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SELECTED  ESSAYS 


BY 


AHAD  HA-'AM 


SELECTED  ESSAYS 

BY 

AHAD  HA-'AM 


Translated  from  the  Hebrew 
By 

LEON  SIMON 


Philadelphia 

The  Jewish  Publication  Society  of  America 

1912 


Copyright,  1912,  by 
The  Jewish  Publication  Society  of  America 


TO  MY  TEACHER 

AH  AD  HA-'AM 

AND  TO  MY  FRIEND 

ASHER  GINZBERG 

THIS  VOLUME  OF  TRANSLATIONS 

IS  DEDICA  TED 


DS 


PREFACE 

The  collected  Essays  of  Abaci  Ha-' Am  ^  (Asher 
Ginzberg)  appeared  in  1904  in  three  volumes,  under 
the  title  'Al  Parashat  Derahim  ("  At  the  Parting  of  the 
Ways  ").  The  Essays  included  in  the  present  volume 
are  a  comparatively  small  selection,  but  they  will  prob- 
ably give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  author's  attitude  on 
Jewish  questions. 

The  Essays  do  not  appear  in  strict  chronological 
order  in  this  volume,  because  the  first  eight  of  them 
form  a  single  series  (to  which  the  author  gave  the 
name  of  "  Fragments,"  with  the  subtitle  "  Short  Talks 
on  Great  Subjects  "  ^),  and  it  did  not  seem  desirable  to 
break  up  this  series.  INIoreover,  the  essay  "  Flesh  and 
Spirit,"  which  is  latest  in  date,  belongs  of  right  to  the 
"  Fragments,"  and  has  been  placed  immediately  after 
them  at  the  author's  wish. 

Ahad  Ha-' Am  has  been  translated  into  many  lan- 
guages, but  very  few  of  the  Essays  in  his  collected 

'  This  pseudonym,  which  has  been  invariably  used  by  Asher 
Ginzberg,  since  his  first  appearance  in  print,  means  "one  of  the 
people." 

'  It  is  worth  mentioning  that  this  subtitle  was  chosen  before 
the  author  had  heard  of  J.  A.  Froude's  book  with  a  very 
similar  name. 


8  PREFACE 

works  have  appeared  in  English.*  I  have  refrained 
of  set  purpose  from  consulting  any  other  translation, 
desiring  that  my  own  version  should  be  as  close  a 
reproduction  of  the  original  as  I  could  make  of  it. 

The  translation  has  had  the  advantage  of  the 
author's  revision,  and  my  best  thanks  are  due  to  him 
for  the  correction  of  many  errors  and  the  suggestion 
of  many  improvements.  But  this  acknowledgment  of 
assistance  involves  no  transfer  of  responsibility. 

The  foot-notes  which  I  have  added  are  placed  in 

square  brackets :  the  others  appear  in  the  original. 

London,  December,  191  i. 

L.  S. 

*  He  has  written  a  good  deal  since  1904,  but  the  later  essays 
have  not  yet  appeared  in  book  form.  A  translation  of  one  of 
them  ("Judaism  and  the  Gospels")  appeared  in  the  Jewish 
Review  for  September  1910  (vol.  i,  no.  3). 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface 7 

Introduction 1 1 

Sacred  and  Profane 41 

Justice  and  Mercy 46 

Positive  and  Negative 53 

Anticipations  and  Survivals 67 

Past  and  Future 80 

Two   Masters 91 

Imitation  and  Assimilation 107 

Priest  and  Prophet 125 

Flesh  and  Spirit 139 

Many  Inventions 159 

Slavery  in   Freedom 171 

Some  Consolation 195 

Ancestor  Worship 205 

The  Transvaluation  of  Values 217 

A  New  Savior 242 

The  Spiritual  Revival 253 

Moses 306 

Index 331 


INTRODUCTION 

BY  THE  TRANSLATOR 

The  Essays  of  Ahad  Ha-'Am  deal  with  a  great 
variety  of  subjects ;  but  they  are  all  concerned  more 
or  less  directly  with  the  theoretical  and  the  practical 
problems  of  the  Jewish  people.  They  present,  in  out- 
line at  least,  a  philosophy  of  Jewish  history  (that  term 
being  used  in  its  widest  sense,  to  include  the  develop- 
ment of  Jewish  thought)  ;  and  at  the  same  time  they 
advocate  certain  practical  steps  which  are  the  logical 
outcome  of  that  philosophy.  Many  of  them  have  been 
written  on  the  occasion  of  passing  events,  and  are 
mainly  critical,  or  even  polemical,  in  character.  Essays 
of  this  kind  have  their  value  as  indicating  the  appli- 
cation of  the  author's  point  of  view  to  particular  ques- 
tions. But  for  the  purpose  of  the  present  volume  of 
translations  it  has  been  considered  preferable  to  select 
those  Essays  which  deal  with  the  more  permanent 
aspects  of  Jewish  life  and  thought. 

The  aim  of  this  Introduction  is  to  present  the 
author's  main  ideas,  which  are  scattered  through  the 
various  Essays,  in  a  connected  form,  and  thus  place 
the  reader  at  a  standpoint  from  which  each  Essay  can 
be  appreciated  in  its  relation  to  the  general  scheme  of 
the  author's  thought.  In  performing  this  task,  it  may 
well  be  that  the  translator  has  not  escaped  the  danger 
that  besets  any  writer  who  attempts  to  state  in  his 


INTRODUCTION 


own  way  the  philosophy  of  his  teacher — the  danger 
of  putting  things  in  a  wrong  perspective,  of  distrib- 
uting the  emphasis  in  a  way  which  the  teacher  would 
not  accept.  For  this  reason  I  think  it  well  to  state 
that  the  responsibility  for  the  presentment  of  "  Ahad 
Ha-'Amism  "  contained  in  this  Introduction  rests  with 
myself  alone.  How  far  it  is  a  just  presentment  the 
Essays  themselves  will  enable  the  reader  to  determine. 

I 

The  history  of  the  Hebrews  (it  will  be  convenient 
to  use  this  term  in  speaking  of  the  race,  because 
"  Jew  "  and  "  Jewish  "  have  acquired  a  specifically  re- 
ligious connotation)  is  the  history  of  a  living  organism, 
whose  life  is  the  outward  expression  of  a  certain  fun- 
damental character  or  spirit.  The  mode  of  expres- 
sion varies  at  different  times,  being  determined  largely 
by  external  circumstances.  But  throughout  the 
national  "  will-to-live  "  is  asserting  itself,  not  merely 
in  the  physical  survival  of  the  Hebrews,  but  in  the 
creation  of  a  specific  type  of  life,  and  the  expression 
of  a  specific  outlook  on  human  problems,  without 
which  the  mere  existence  of  the  Hebrews  as  a  race 
would  mean  nothing.  This  type  of  life  and  this  out- 
look embody,  in  deed  and  in  thought,  the  Hebrew 
spirit. 

It  will  be  as  well  to  examine  this  word  "  spirit "  a 
little  more  closely,  because  the  Hebrew  word  of  which 
it  is  the  nearest  English  equivalent  is  one  of  very 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  writings  of  Ahad  Ha-' Am, 


INTRODUCTION  13 


and  the  word  "  spirit "  and  more  especially  the  adjec- 
tive "  spiritual  "  are  apt,  if  used  without  explanation, 
to  convey  an  impression  foreign  to  the  meaning  of  the 
original.  To  begin  with,  we  instinctively  think  of 
"spirit"  as  the  antithesis  of  "flesh"  or  "body:" 
devotion  to  "  the  things  of  the  spirit "  implies  at  once 
an  attitude  of  hostility,  or,  at  best,  of  indifference,  to 
the  things  of  the  flesh.  To  read  that  idea  into  the 
word  "  spirit "  as  used  in  an  English  translation  of 
Ahad  Ha-' Am — inevitably  used,  for  there  is  no  better 
word — would  be  to  misconstrue  him  entirely.  The 
"  spirit  "  is  that  of  which  "  mind  "  and  "  body  "  are 
alike  the  expression:  it  is  the  inner  or  real  life,  the 
inwardness  of  a  thing — what  the  Germans  call  das 
Wesen.  The  English  use  of  the  word  approaches 
nearer  to  this  sense  in  such  a  phrase  as  "  the  spirit  of 
the  age."  But  the  case  is  even  harder  with  the  adjec- 
tive "  spiritual,"  which,  as  ordinarily  used  in  English, 
has  a  distinct  reference  to  religion,  and  to  religion  con- 
ceived as  something  essentially  apart  from  (and  above) 
the  ordinary  concerns  of  human  life.  To  be  "  spirit- 
ual "  is  to  be  "  other-worldly."  But  there  is  no  such 
suggestion  about  the  word  as  it  must  be  used  in  trans- 
lating or  writing  about  Ahad  Ha-' Am.  That  which 
is  "  spiritual "  is  simply  that  which  relates  to  the 
"  spirit " — the  inwardness,  das  Wesen — of  a  thing,  or 
a  person,  or  an  institution,  or  a  nation.  Thus  the 
literature  and  the  type  of  life  in  which  the  spirit  of  a 
people  expresses  itself  may  be  spoken  of  as  the  "  spirit- 
ual creations,"  or  "  spiritual  possessions  "  of  that  peo- 


14  INTRODUCTION 


pie,  without  its  being  implied  that  they  are  of  a  reli- 
gious as  opposed  to  a  secular  character.  The  line  of 
distinction  is  drawn  not  between  the  higher  and  the 
lower,  or  between  the  next  world  and  this,  but  between 
the  underlying  idea  and  its  outward  expressions. 

In  saying,  then,  that  the  history  of  the  Hebrews  is 
the  history  of  the  working  out  of  the  Hebrew  spirit, 
one  is  not,  so  far,  implying  that  spirituality,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  is  a  special  characteristic 
of  the  Hebrew  race.  A  similar  statement  would  be 
true  of  the  history  of  any  nation,  be  it  never  so  mate- 
rialistic in  its  outlook  and  its  aims.  But  it  is,  in  fact, 
the  case  that  the  outlook  and  the  aims  of  the  Hebrew 
genius  have  never  been  materialistic.  Nay,  more :  the 
bent  of  the  Hebrew  mind  has  never  been  turned  even 
towards  the  spiritualized  materialism  that  finds  its  ex- 
pression in  beauty  of  form  and  language,  but  always 
to  the  discovery  of  fundamental  truths  about  the  uni- 
verse, and  the  embodiment,  in  actual  life,  of  funda- 
mental principles  based  on  those  truths.  Thus  the 
Hebrew  spirit  is  essentially  religious  and  moral.  It 
has  expressed  itself  not  in  the  building  up  of  an 
empire,  not  in  the  elaboration  of  political  institutions, 
not  in  the  perfection  of  mechanical  devices,  not  in  the 
production  of  works  of  art,  but  in  the  search  after 
God,  and  in  the  attempt  to  found  a  social  order  based 
on  God's  will. 

It  follows,  then,  that  the  typical  products  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit  are  not  conquerors  or  inventors  or 
artists,  but  prophets — men  whose  special  gift  it  is  to 


INTRODUCTION  15 


see  into  the  heart  of  things,  and  to  enunciate  moral 
laws  based  on  the  spiritual  truths  which  are  revealed 
to  their  superior  insight.  The  Prophets,  from  Moses 
onwards,  have  been  regarded  by  the  Hebrews  through- 
out their  history  as  the  fine  flower  of  the  race ;  and 
the  Prophetic  writings  present  the  Hebraic  outlook  on 
life  in  its  supreme  literary  expression.  The  historical 
(or  rather  archeological)  accuracy  of  the  particular 
statements  about  the  Prophets  as  individuals  which 
are  contained  in  the  Bible  does  not  affect  their  value, 
and  the  value  of  their  writings,  from  this  point  of 
view.  Their  acceptance  by  the  nation  as  the  highest 
type  which  it  has  produced,  and  as  the  exponents  of 
its  own  outlook  and  ideals,  endows  them  with  more 
than  individual  importance,  and  gives  their  writings 
a  value  which  depends  in  no  way  on  their  personalities. 
The  Prophetic  books  are  not  merely  the  utterances  of 
particular  men  at  particular  epochs  of  history;  they 
are  the  mirror  of  the  Hebrew  soul. 

In  the  essential  characteristics  of  the  Prophet,  there- 
fore, we  shall  find  the  Hebrew  ideal  of  character ;  and 
in  the  Prophetic  teaching  we  shall  find  the  Hebrew 
ideal  of  conduct.  Thus  through  the  Prophets  we  can 
discover  the  real  meaning  of  the  term  "  Hebrew 
spirit " — the  quintessence,  as  it  were,  of  Hebraism. 

The  functions  of  the  Prophet  do  not  necessarily  in- 
clude foretelling  the  future;  he  is  rather  a  Seer  than 
a  fore-seer.  Hebrew  tradition  finds  the  greatest  of 
the  Prophets  in  Moses,  who  has  little  claim  to  the  title 
in  the  narrower  current  sense;  and  so  it  is  appro- 


1 6  INTRODUCTION 


priately  in  his  essay  on  Moses  that  Ahad  Ha-' Am  sets 
forth  what  are  in  his  view  the  fundamental  quahties 
of  the  Prophetic  type.  "  The  Prophet  has  two  funda- 
mental qualities,  which  distinguish  him  from  the  rest 
of  mankind.  First,  he  is  a  man  of  truth.  He  sees 
life  as  it  is,  with  a  view  unwarped  by  subjective  feel- 
ings ;  and  he  tells  you  what  he  sees  just  as  he  sees  it, 
unaffected  by  irrelevant  considerations.  He  tells  the 
truth  not  because  he  wishes  to  tell  the  truth,  not  be- 
cause he  has  convinced  himself,  after  inquiry,  that 
such  is  his  duty,  but  because  he  needs  must,  because 
truth-telling  is  a  special  characteristic  of  his  genius — 
a  characteristic  of  which  he  cannot  rid  himself,  even 
if  he  would.  .  .  .  Secondly,  the  Prophet  is  an  ex- 
tremist. He  concentrates  his  whole  heart  and  mind 
on  his  ideal,  in  which  he  finds  the  goal  of  life,  and  to 
which  he  is  determined  to  make  the  whole  world  do 
service,  without  the  smallest  exception.  .  .  .  He  can 
accept  no  excuse,  can  consent  to  no  compromise,  can 
never  cease  thundering  his  passionate  denunciations, 
even  if  the  whole  universe  is  against  him." 

From  the  absolute  truthfulness  of  the  Prophet,  and 
his  absolute  refusal  to  compromise,  it  follows  that  his 
ideal  is  perfect  Justice,  which  is  "  truth  in  action,"  or 
Righteousness.  The  Prophet  as  such  stands  for  the 
ideal  of  a  society  based  on  absolute  righteousness:  a 
society,  that  is,  in  which  each  individual  does  that 
which  is  right  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  whole, 
without  regard  to  his  personal  interest  or  convenience. 
And  that  which  is  right  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  17 


whole  society  is  that  which  is  right  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  whole  universe:  for  such  a  society  em- 
bodies in  human  life  the  principle  of  right  on  which 
the  universe  is  based.  It  is,  in  religious  phraseology, 
a  society  which  works  out  the  will  of  God  on  earth. 

But  the  Prophets  were  not  content  merely  to  lay 
down  in  the  abstract  the  ideal  of  a  righteous  society: 
they  laid  it  down  as  an  ideal  for  their  own  people. 
Their  outlook  was  universal — they  wished  to  see  the 
sway  of  righteousness  established  over  the  whole 
earth.  But  it  was  at  the  same  time  essentially  national, 
inasmuch  as  they  regarded  it  as  the  peculiar  function 
of  the  Hebrews  to  work  out  the  ideal  in  their  own 
national  life  and  thus  secure  its  universal  accept- 
ance. They  demanded  that  Israel  should  be  among 
the  nations  what  they  themselves  were  in  Israel — an 
elemental  force  making  for  righteousness.  Such  a 
force  can  be  thwarted,  or  deflected  from  its  course, 
by  adverse  circumstances,  or,  in  other  words,  by  the 
impact  of  other  opposing  forces  with  which  it  comes 
into  conflict ;  but  it  can  never  cease  to  be  what  it  is,  or 
to  struggle  along  its  own  path.  The  nation  of  the 
Prophets  can  no  more  compromise  with  life  than  could 
the  Prophets  themselves.  Other  nations  may  rest  con- 
tent with  something  less  than  the  absolute  ideal ;  they 
may  recognize  that  this  or  that,  though  desirable  in 
itself,  is  impossible  of  attainment  in  a  world  such  as 
ours,  and  may  rest  satisfied  with  here  or  there  a  step 
forward.  But  for  the  Hebrew  nation — as  the  Prophets 
conceived  it — there  could  be  no  acceptance  of  half- 


1 8  INTRODUCTION 


measures.     Nothing  less  than  the   ideal  of   absolute 
righteousness  could  suffice. 

In  accepting,  as  they  did,  this  conception  of  the 
Prophets,  the  Hebrews  laid  on  themselves  the  duty  of 
struggling  forever  against  the  world  on  behalf  of  a 
cause  which  is,  in  the  ordinary  human  view,  hopeless. 
They  condemned  themselves  to  an  everlasting  life  of 
preaching  in  the  wilderness.  Only  by  ceasing  to  be  a 
nation  can  they  cease  to  be  a  force  making  for  abso- 
lute righteousness,  brooking  no  compromises  and  con- 
tent with  no  half -attainments.  This  is  what  it  means 
to  them  to  be  "  a  peculiar  people." 

II 

In  accepting  the  Prophets  and  their  Law,  the 
Hebrews  were  simply  expressing  their  own  national 
spirit.  But  the  acceptance  of  an  ideal  is  easier  than  its 
fulfilment.  In  a  moment  of  spiritual  exaltation,  when 
we  rise  to  our  true  height,  we  may  cry  "  we  will  do  and 
we  will  obey ; "  but  the  thing  is  not  so  simple  as  it 
seems.  When  the  moment's  enthusiasm  is  gone,  a 
body  of  ordinary  mortals  cannot  take  hold  of  an  abso- 
lute ideal  which  has  been  enunciated  without  regard 
to  the  facts  of  everyday  life.  The  ideal  must  be  led 
down  to  them,  as  it  were,  through  suitable  channels, 
by  which  it  is  adapted  to  their  requirements  and  their 
capabilities.  These  channels — these  intermediaries  be- 
tween the  Prophets  and  the  people — are  the  Priests. 
The  Priest  is  essentially  what  the  Prophet  essentially 
is  not — a  man  of  compromise,  a  man  of  the  hour. 


INTRODUCTION  19 


Aaron,  making  a  golden  calf  because  the  people  want 
something  tangible  to  worship,  is  the  typical  Priest. 
In  his  anxiety  to  prevent  a  complete  revolt  from  the 
Prophet  by  a  reasonable  compromise,  he  abandons 
the  very  principle  for  which  the  Prophet  stands,  and 
by  virtue  of  which  alone  he  is  worth  following.  Thus 
the  Priest,  devoted  adherent  of  the  Prophet  as  he  is, 
becomes  the  Prophet's  worst  enemy.  But,  the  facts 
of  ordinary  life  being  on  the  side  of  the  Priest,  on  the 
side  of  compromise,  it  follows  that  the  Prophetic  ideal 
would  be  lost  entirely,  did  not  the  unquenchable  spirit 
of  the  nation,  which  is  the  Prophetic  spirit,  ever  and 
anon  reassert  itself. 

The  centuries  that  elapsed  between  the  close  of  the 
Prophetic  era  and  the  rise  of  the  Maccabeans  were 
essentially  a  Priestly  period,  a  period  of  compromise. 
And  so,  when  Alexander  let  loose  the  flowing  tide  of 
Hellenism  over  the  East,  the  Hebrews  accepted  an 
amalgamation  of  their  own  traditional  way  of  life 
with  Greek  ideas  and  practices.  It  was  only  when 
Antiochus  threatened  the  complete  extinction  of 
Hebraism  that  the  Hebrew  spirit  rose  again  in  all  its 
strength.  The  success  of  the  Maccabean  rising  led  to 
a  reaction  against  Hellenism,  and  to  much  missionary 
activity  in  the  outside  world,  which  sowed  the  seeds 
of  the  coming  revolution.  But  within  the  Maccabean 
kingdom  itself  the  victory  was  not  complete.  The 
Sadducees,  who  for  the  most  part  were  favored  by 
the  royal  house,  were  men  of  the  Priestly  type.  They 
stood    for   a   rigid    adherence   to   the   letter  of    the 


INTRODUCTION 


Prophetic  Law ;  but  they  acquiesced  in  the  replace- 
ment of  its  spirit  by  a  materiahsm  which  regarded 
wealth  and  political  power  as  desirable  ends.  They 
secured  for  a  time  the  political  existence  of  the 
Hebrews,  without  which  the  Prophetic  ideal  could  not 
be  realized ;  but  they  preserved  the  body  of  Hebraism 
at  the  expense  of  its  soul.  And  over  against  them 
there  rose  up  another  sect,  the  Essenes,  which  went 
to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  in  a  life  of  asceticism 
and  abnegation  endeavored  to  preserve  the  soul  with- 
out the  body. 

But  the  Prophetic  ideal,  demanding  as  it  did  the 
expression  of  the  Hebrew  spirit  in  the  national  life, 
found  its  heirs  neither  in  the  Sadducees  nor  in  the 
Essenes.  It  was  the  Pharisees  who,  despite  the 
obloquy  so  liberally  meted  out  to  them  in  the  New 
Testament,  were  the  true  heirs  of  the  Prophetic  spirit. 
It  was  they  who  refused  either  to  compromise  wnth 
the  materialism  of  the  world,  like  the  Sadducees,  or  to 
abandon  the  world  as  hopeless  because  it  was  material- 
istic, as  the  Essenes  did.  Their  ideal  was  to  make  the 
Law  a  living  tradition,  developing  organically  in  con- 
nection with  the  development  of  the  society  whose 
spirit  it  both  reflected  and  moulded,  and  remaining 
true  throughout  to  the  Prophetic  teaching.  The 
national  separateness  of  the  Hebrews  was  no  less 
essential  to  them  than  to  the  Sadducees ;  but  they  saw 
what  it  was  that  made  that  national  separateness 
essential,  and  did  not  mistake  immediate  political  in- 
dependence for  an  end  in  itself.    They  could  not  sacri- 


INTRODUCTION 


fice  the  substance  for  the  shadow.  Hence  they 
acquiesced  in  the  destruction  of  the  last  vestiges  of 
their  national  liberty  by  the  Romans,  so  long  as  they 
were  permitted  to  keep  the  lamp  of  Hebrew  tradition 
alight  in  their  schools,  to  preserve  their  ideal  intact 
against  the  day  when  its  perfect  fulfilment  should  be 
possible.  And  the  preservation  of  their  ideal  was  for 
them  not  only  worth  more  than  political  independence : 
it  was  worth  more  even  than  the  acceptance  by  the 
world  of  their  ideal  in  a  modified  form.  The  spread 
of  Christianity  was  a  victory  for  the  Hebrew  spirit ; 
but  it  was  a  Priestly  victory,  a  victory  gained  at  the 
expense  of  the  abandonment  of  something  funda- 
mental— of  the  idea  that  the  spirit  must  be  embodied 
in  the  corporate  life  of  a  definite  society.  It  was 
impossible  to  breathe  the  soul  of  Hebraism  into  an 
alien  body  without  distorting  and  corrupting  the  soul 
itself.  Hence  the  Pharisees  could  not  throw  in  their 
lot  with  the  Christians ;  Hebrew  separateness  was 
maintained,  and  the  ideal  was  kept  alive,  as  a  memory 
and  a  hope,  through  the  centuries. 

HI 
For  the  Prophets,  as  we  have  seen,  the  national  ex- 
istence of  the  Hebrews — their  existence  as  a  corporate 
society  of  human  beings,  living  out  their  own  life  in 
accordance  with  a  law  that  expressed  their  own  spirit 
— was  something  essential.  Hence  the  Pharisees 
and  their  Rabbis,  who  were  the  heirs  of  the  Prophets, 
were  cheered  in  their  exile  by  the  hope  of  an  early 


INTRODUCTION 


restoration  of  their  national  life.  But  as  time  went 
on,  and  the  exile  continued,  this  simple  faith  was  in- 
evitably weakened.  The  hope  was  not,  indeed,  aban- 
doned ;  but  it  became  a  yearning  for  a  "  far-off  divine 
event "  rather  than  an  active  expectation  of  an  immi- 
nent change  in  material  circumstances.  The  coming 
of  the  Messiah  still  meant  the  national  restoration  of 
Israel  to  his  ancestral  land ;  there  was  no  thought  of 
a  "  spiritual  Zion."  But  the  exile,  the  Galiit,  was 
now  a  thing  of  indefinite  duration,  not  simply  a  tem- 
porary accident ;  and  the  national  way  of  life  and 
thought  had  to  be  adapted  to  the  new  circumstances. 
The  armory  of  the  Hebrews,  their  Torah,  had  now  to 
be  drawn  on  for  shields  and  bucklers  against  the 
forces  that  threatened  to  extinguish  them,  rather  than 
for  weapons  with  which  to  fight  for  the  attainment  of 
their  ideal.  The  Hebrew  spirit,  robbed  of  its  natural 
setting  in  a  Hebrew  life,  and  thrown  on  the  defensive, 
had  to  express  itself  as  best  it  could  in  those  human 
activities  which  were  left  untouched  by  the  demands 
of  life  in  a  non-Hebraic  environment ;  and  in  that 
narrower  sphere  every  precaution  had  to  be  taken  to 
keep  out  the  devastating  hand  of  alien  influences. 
The  Hebrews,  in  a  word,  became  Jews,  and  their 
Hebraism  was  narrowed  down  to  Judaism,  and  to 
a  Judaism  which  was  forced,  in  self-defence,  to  ex- 
press itself  in  an  ever  more  stringent  code  of  observ- 
ances, to  make  a  fence  round  the  Law  in  place  of  the 
lost  safeguard  of  a  national  life. 

The  Judaism  of  the  Rabbis,  then,  is  but  an  imper- 


INTRODUCTION  23 


feet  reproduction  of  the  Prophetic  Hebraism.  It  is 
vitally  affected  on  its  practical  side,  and  to  a  less 
degree  on  its  theoretical  side,  by  the  exchange  of 
freedom  for  Galut.  But  for  all  that  Judaism  is  still 
an  expression,  albeit  a  truncated  expression,  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit — of  that  spirit  which  knows  no  compro- 
mise with  opposing  forces,  which  demands  absolute 
truth  in  thought  and  absolute  righteousness  in  action. 
In  order  to  realize  this,  we  have  but  to  examine  the 
characteristic  Jewish  attitude  on  one  or  two  of  the 
fundamental  problems  of  religion  and  morality. 

At  the  outset  of  any  inquiry  into  the  nature  and 
functions  of  man,  we  are  faced  with  the  apparent 
dualism  of  body  and  soul.  For  the  philosopher  this 
dualism  is  something  illogical,  and  therefore  unbear- 
able :  he  is  driven  to  seek  for  some  single  reality  to 
which  the  two  elements  can  be  referred,  be  that  unity 
matter  or  spirit  or  something  which  is  neither.  Re- 
ligion, on  the  other  hand,  in  its  modern  forms,  tends 
not  only  to  accept  this  dualism,  but  to  regard  the  two 
elements  as  necessarily  antagonistic.  The  soul  is  the 
Divine  element  in  man,  striving  upwards  towards  its 
Divine  source ;  the  body  is  of  the  earth,  and  its  evil 
nature  must  be  constantly  combated,  lest  it  drag  down 
the  soul  into  the  mire.  Hence  arises  the  distinction 
between  "  religious  "  and  "  secular,"  and,  in  the  last 
resort,  the  abandonment  of  merely  worldly  concerns 
to  the  devil.  Religion,  fighting  the  battle  of  the  soul 
against  the  body,  is  faced  with  a  task  that  is  hopeless 
from  the  outset.     Hence  the  ideal  of  absolute  right- 


24  INTRODUCTION 


doing  becomes  an  impossible  one  for  this  life.  The 
soul  must  struggle  through  this  "  vale  of  tears "  as 
best  it  can,  supporting  and  consoling  itself  by  the 
hope  of  full  fruition  in  the  world  to  come. 

To  this  "  religious  "  attitude  the  Hebraism  of  the 
Prophets  is  of  necessity  fundamentally  opposed.  For 
them  the  ideal  of  absolute  righteousness  was  a  first 
postulate.  It  was  an  ideal  to  which  the  life  of  their 
own  nation — the  whole  life,  not  merely  a  part  of  it — 
was  consecrated ;  and  the  task  thus  set  before  the 
nation  was  of  sufficient  grandeur,  the  hope  thus  held 
out  to  it  was  sufficiently  splendid,  to  remove  any  temp- 
tation to  exalt  the  future  life  at  the  expense  of  this. 
Thus  Hebraism  knows  of  no  antagonism  between  body 
and  soul,  nor  of  any  distinction  between  "  religious  " 
and  "  secular."  Nor  does  Hebraism  trouble  about 
personal  immortality.  The  nation  is  immortal  by  virtue 
of  its  lofty  mission  ;  and  for  the  individual  it  is  sufficient 
to  know  that  he  is  doing  his  part  in  the  work  of  an 
immortal  nation. 

This  conception,  however,  could  not  be  expected  to 
stand  the  strain  of  a  national  calamity,  which  seemed 
for  the  time  to  deal  the  national  ideal  its  death-blow. 
In  hours  of  darkness  and  despair  men  naturally  sought 
comfort  in  the  thought  that  death  might  bring  a  con- 
summation which  seemed  too  much  to  expect  from 
life.  And  if  this  tendency  made  itself  felt  among  the 
Hebrews  even  in  the  time  of  the  Babylonian  captivity, 
it  was  bound  to  become  stronger  still  in  the  protracted 
gloom  of  the  second  exile.    Thus  "  other-worldliness  " 


INTRODUCTION  25 


came  to  play  a  not  inconsiderable  part  in  Jewish 
thought.  Men  came  to  believe  that  this  world,  which 
offered  them  no  comforting  prospect  of  the  realization 
of  their  national  ideal,  did  not  really  matter — that  it 
was  nothing  more  than  a  preparation  for  another 
world,  in  which  the  sway  of  righteousness  would  be 
established  without  any  effort  on  the  part  of  weak 
human  beings.  Hence  such  sayings  as  this  are  found 
in  the  Talmud :  "  This  world  is,  as  it  were,  the  en- 
trance-hall to  the  world  to  come.  Prepare  thyself 
in  the  entrance-hall,  that  thou  mayest  become  worthy 
to  enter  the  banqueting-hall."  But  the  influence  of 
the  Prophets  was  too  strong  to  allow  of  a  complete 
shifting  of  the  centre  of  gravity  from  this  world  to 
the  next.  Personal  immortality  became  an  accepted 
idea  among  Jews,  but  its  acceptance  did  not  involve 
any  condemnation  of  life  on  earth.  And,  above  all, 
the  idea  of  the  sanctification  of  the  whole  of  human  life 
in  the  service  of  God  has  remained  the  cornerstone  of 
Judaism  throughout  its  history.  Judaism,  true  to  the 
Prophetic  teaching,  regards  the  body  as  an  instrument 
of  the  Divine  will,  not  as  something  inherently  recal- 
citrant and  bound  up  with  sin.  It  accepts  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  human  life  and  strives  to  make  the 
best  of  them,  never  resting  content  with  any  standard 
lower  than  that  of  absolute  perfection. 

It  might  seem  at  first  sight  that  in  this  acceptance 
of  facts  there  is  something  inconsistent  with  the  "  ex- 
tremeness "  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Prophetic 
outlook.    But  to  be  an  extremist  does  not  necessarily 


26  INTRODUCTION 


involve  taking  a  distorted  view  of  the  facts  or  shutting 
one's  eyes  to  half  the  truth.  That  kind  of  "  extreme- 
ness "  is  essentially  opposed  to  the  love  of  truth,  which 
is  another  characteristic  of  the  Prophet.  The  real 
extremist  is  he  who,  realizing  the  whole  truth  so  far 
as  he  can,  will  rest  content  with  nothing  less  than  the 
complete  embodiment  of  that  whole  truth  in  actual 
life.  The  truth  for  which  he  stands  is  certain  to  lie 
somewhere  between  two  exaggerated  conceptions,  and 
it  is  just  because  he  stands  for  truth  and  justice  (which 
is  "  truth  in  action  ")  and  will  admit  of  no  compro- 
mise, that  he  cannot  allow  any  quarter  to  the  exag- 
gerations, but  must  have  the  perfect  mean.  From  this 
point  of  view  w^e  may  appreciate  the  Jewish  attitude 
towards  asceticism  as  a  correct  interpretation  of  the 
Prophetic  Hebraism.  Asceticism  in  its  true  form — 
that  is  to  say,  asceticism  practiced  because  the  flesh 
and  its  appetites  are  believed  to  be  inherently  evil — 
is  in  one  sense  an  extreme.  But  it  does  not  corre- 
spond, in  the  Jewish  view,  to  the  truth,  any  more  than 
does  the  opposite  idea,  that  the  flesh  and  its  appetites 
are  the  only  things  that  make  life  worth  living. 
Each  of  these  views  is  unjust  to  one  side  of  humanity. 
Hence  asceticism  as  a  principle  of  life  is  as  far  re- 
moved from  Judaism  as  is  sensualism.  So  far  as  self- 
mortification  has  played  a  part  in  Jewish  life,  its  ob- 
ject has  been,  not  to  punish  the  flesh  as  something 
evil,  but  to  purify  it  and  render  it  more  worthy  of 
the  high  mission  which  it  has  in  common  with  the 
soul. 


INTRODUCTION  27 


And  as  the  false  "  extremism  "  which  rests  on  a 
neglect  of  half  the  truth  has  no  place,  for  Jewish 
thought,  in  regulating  the  economy  of  the  individual 
life,  so  also  it  is  debarred  from  exerting  any  influence 
on  the  determination  of  the  correct  relation  between 
the  individual  and  society  as  a  whole.  Judaism  has 
no  place  for  that  extreme  altruism  which  makes  self- 
sacrifice  an  end  in  itself.  The  justice  of  the  individ- 
ual's claim  is  to  be  decided  by  a  reference  to  the  good 
of  the  whole ;  and  if  that  criterion  gives  one  individual 
a  certain  right,  it  would  be  positively  unjust  on  his 
part  (because  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
whole)  to  waive  his  right.  Judaism  is  "  extreme " 
only  in  demanding  that  the  test  of  the  common  good 
shall  be  applied  with  absolute  impartiality.  The  ideal 
can  only  be  attained  when  each  individual  is  capable 
of  judging  his  own  case  with  as  complete  disinterest- 
edness as  though  it  were  another's. 

But  if  the  individual  cannot  assert  the  claims  of  his 
individuality  against  the  commonwealth,  this  does  not 
mean  that  Judaism  stands  for  the  ideal  of  a  dead  level 
of  mediocrity.  That  ideal  is  another  "  extreme  "  of 
the  wrong  kind,  like  that  of  unfettered  individualism. 
Judaism  not  only  has  room  for,  but  demands,  the 
supreme  personality,  the  Superman  ;  but  his  supremacy 
is  to  He  in  the  development  of  his  exceptional  gifts, 
not  at  the  expense  of  his  weaker  fellows,  but  for  their 
good  in  common  with  his  own.  The  Prophet  is  the 
Jewish  Superman  ;  and  only  through  their  Prophets  can 
the  Jews  become  what  their  national  ideal  demands 


28  INTRODUCTION 


that  they  should  be — a  Supernation.  Thus  for  Juda- 
ism the  Prophet  is  the  goal  as  well  as  the  source 
of  its  life ;  and  it  is  the  true  Hebrew  spirit  that  finds 
expression  in  the  aspiration  which  has  been  the  life- 
breath  of  Judaism  for  centuries.  It  is  the  true  Hebrew 
spirit  that  demands  ultimately  the  single  supreme 
Prophet,  in  whom  prophecy  and  fulfilment  shall  be 
united — the  Messiah. 

IV 

If  we  turn  from  this  examination  of  some  of  .the 
fundamental  conceptions  of  Judaism  to  look  at  the 
Jews  of  the  modern  world,  we  are  struck  with  a  pain- 
ful sense  of  contrast.  Neither  the  Hebraism  of  the 
Prophets  nor  the  Judaism  of  the  Rabbis  seems  to  find 
expression  in  the  Jew  whom  the  world  knows  to-day. 
A  burning  idealism,  a  passionate  and  uncompromising 
pursuit  of  righteousness,  a  determination  to  make 
religion  and  life  coextensive — these  are  not  the  char- 
acteristics that  are  associated  with  the  cosmopolitan 
financier  who  too  often  figures  in  the  popular  mind  as 
the  typical  Jew.  Of  the  Jew  who  is  more  really 
typical — the  Ghetto  Jew,  who  lives  the  life  of  his 
forefathers,  and  clings  to  their  ideas,  unenlightened 
and  untarnished  by  the  culture  and  the  materialism 
of  modern  civilization — the  outside  world  knows  noth- 
ing. And  the  growing  class  of  assimilated  Jews  which 
lies  between  these  extremes  is  so  anxious — and  so 
successfully  anxious — to  be  like  its  surroundings,  and 
to  keep  its  differences  in  the  background,  that  it  can- 


INTRODUCTION  29 


not  be  marked  out  as  standing  for  a  distinctive  ideal: 
its  outlook  on  life,  its  manners  and  customs,  are  too 
completely  dominated  by  the  influences  of  its  non- 
Jewish  surroundings.  Where,  then,  is  the  Hebrew- 
spirit  to-day?  Perhaps  in  the  unexplored  Ghetto? 
But  the  Ghetto  is  breaking  up  before  our  eyes ;  and 
in  any  case  a  spirit  that  can  only  live  by  shutting  out 
the  light  of  modern  progress  might  as  well  be  dead. 
Are  we  then  to  conclude  that  the  survival  of  the 
Jews  is  a  meaningless  freak  of  history?  Are  we  to 
advise  them  to  give  up  a  hopeless  struggle  against 
overwhelming  odds? 

Before  advocating  such  a  step,  we  should  remember 
what  it  is  that  has  brought  about  the  present  condition 
of  things.  For  eighteen  centuries  the  homeless  Jew 
has  been  the  butt  of  hatred  and  oppression,  has  been 
seaman  on  board  every  ship  of  state  but  his  own,  has 
been  made  the  huckster  of  the  world's  spiritual  and 
material  goods,  has  been  alternately  master  in  the 
narrow  Ghetto  and  slave  in  the  larger  world  of  an 
alien  culture,  has  been  driven  from  the  soil  and  the 
sun  into  the  soul-withering  atmosphere  of  the  count- 
ing-house— has  been  forced,  in  a  word,  to  live  every 
life  imaginable  except  that  of  his  own  individuality. 
It  is  this  long-drawn-out  tragedy  of  a  lodger  life  that 
has  produced  the  apparent  impotence  of  the  Hebrew 
spirit  to-day,  not  any  weakening  of  the  spirit  itself, 
nor  any  lack  of  a  field  in  which  it  might  work.  And 
just  because  the  spirit  has  dragged  on  a  weary  ex- 
istence  through   all   these    centuries — for   that   very 


30  INTRODUCTION 


reason  a  voluntary  act  of  national  suicide  (even  if  the 
world  would  allow  it)  is  unthinkable.  The  escape 
from  impotence  is  to  be  found  in  life,  not  in  death. 
The  solution  of  the  Jewish  problem  lies  in  the  "  revival 
of  the  spirit " ;  and  when  we  have  ascertained  what 
change  in  existing  conditions  is  necessary  to  that 
revival,  we  shall  have  determined  the  practical  course 
which  the  Jews  of  the  present  day  must  pursue. 

V 

If  Hebraism  is  a  force  in  the  modern  world  only 
by  virtue  of  its  expression  in  ancient  Hebrew  litera- 
ture, and  not  by  virtue  of  any  influence  exerted  by 
Jews  at  the  present  time,  that  is  because  neither  of  the 
two  kinds  of  life  open  to  the  Jews — life  in  the  Ghetto 
and  life  under  conditions  of  emancipation — offers 
conditions  in  which  there  is  any  possibility  of  an  un- 
fettered development  of  the  Hebrew  spirit. 

In  the  Ghetto,  indeed,  the  Jew  is  to  some  extent  his 
own  master.  He  can  lead  there  a  kind  of  life  which 
is  distinctively  his  own,  organized  in  such  a  way  as  to 
reflect  his  particular  outlook  and  ideals.  And,  in  fact, 
it  is  true  that  the  Ghetto,  with  its  insistence  on  tradi- 
tion, its  devotion  to  the  study  of  the  past,  and  its 
steadfast  persistence  in  hoping  against  hope  for  the 
realization  of  the  Messianic  dream,  has  been  an  ex- 
pression and  a  preservative  of  the  Hebrew  spirit.  But 
the  autonomy  of  the  Ghetto,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  is 
too  cramped  and  too  precarious  to  permit  of  any  real 
progress.     Pent  up  within  the  Ghetto  walls,  and  sur- 


INTRODUCTION  31 


rounded  by  enemies  on  whose  "  tolerance  "  they  de- 
pended, the  Jews  have  been  cut  off  from  all  contact 
with  the  bigger  problems  of  modern  life,  and  with  the 
broad  movements  of  thought  that  went  on  outside. 
The  life  of  which  they  were  masters  was  a  narrow 
one ;  and  the  concentration  of  their  enormous  mental 
and  moral  forces  within  an  area  so  circumscribed  led, 
on  the  one  hand,  indeed,  to  the  production  of  a  human 
type  unsurpassed,  at  its  best,  for  spirituality  and 
moral  grandeur,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  piling 
up  of  mountains  of  minute  regulations  and  prescrip- 
tions, which  threatened  in  time  to  stifle  the  underlying 
spirit.  The  Ghetto  saved  Hebraism  from  extinction, 
but  only  at  the  expense  of  a  one-sided  development, 
and  finally  of  petrifaction.  And  even  if  Hebraism  in 
its  Ghetto  form  were  ultimately  worth  preserving,  the 
Jews  could  not  be  expected  deliberately  to  resist  the 
forces  which,  since  the  time  of  Moses  Mendelssohn, 
have  been  making  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Ghetto 
walls.  They  must  inevitably  take  advantage  of  the 
progress — a  progress  all  too  slow,  it  is  true — among 
modern  European  nations  of  the  recognition  of  their 
rights  as  human  beings.  They  were  and  are  bound 
to  accept  emancipation  with  the  eagerness  of  the 
prisoner  who  is  allowed  to  leave  his  dungeon  for  the 
air  and  the  sunshine.  But  what  are  the  effects  of 
emancipation  on  the  Hebrew  spirit? 

At  first  sight  they  appear  to  be  favorable.  The 
cramping  and  the  spiritual  inbreeding  of  the  Ghetto 
are  gone.    The  Jew  is  allowed  to  breathe  the  free  air 


32  INTRODUCTION 


of  European  enlightenment,  and  even  to  play  his  part 
in  the  wide  arena  of  European  political  life.  He  can 
drink  freely  at  the  well  of  culture  from  which  modern 
nations  derive  their  spiritual  sustenance.  He  can 
stand  up  as  a  free  man  among  free  men.  But  there 
is  another  side  to  the  shield.  For  the  Jew  can  only 
win  all  these  privileges  by  becoming  part  and  parcel 
of  the  particular  nation  in  which  he  happens  to  live  ; 
and  as  his  own  racial  instinct  is  too  strong  to  allow 
him  to  merge  himself  absolutely  in  his  surroundings 
(a  consummation  which,  in  any  case,  modern  nations 
are  not  over-ready  to  accept),  he  has  to  cast  about  for 
some  means  of  preserving  his  own  identity  while  be- 
coming something  else.  This  was  the  problem  which 
confronted  the  earliest  generation  of  emancipated 
Jews  in  modern  times ;  and  they  could  only  solve  it  by 
deliberately  accepting  Judaism  as  a  substitute  for 
Hebraism — in  other  words,  by  acquiescing  once  for  all 
in  the  restriction  of  that  part  of  their  lives  which  re- 
mained their  own  to  the  sphere  of  religion.  The 
exiled  Hebrews  of  old  time  submitted  perforce  to  this 
restriction ;  it  was  a  necessary  condition  of  the  Galut, 
and  could  only  be  removed  by  the  restoration  of  their 
national  life.  But  their  emancipated  descendants  in 
modern  times  regarded  it  as  a  privilege  that  they  were 
able  to  be  Jews  by  religion  only,  and  to  become  Ger- 
mans or  Englishmen  or  Frenchmen  in  all  their  ordi- 
nary relations  with  other  men.  We  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  glance  later  on  at  the  results  of  this  gymnastic 
feat,  by  which  the  emancipated  Jew  saved  his  Judaism 
for  the  time  beinsr. 


INTRODUCTION  33 


But  for  the  moment  it  is  sufificient  to  point  out  that 
Judaism  was  saved  at  the  expense  of  Hebraism.  The 
Hebrew  spirit  can  only  be  fully  expressed  in  a  life 
which  it  moulds  and  fashions  from  start  to  finish ;  but 
in  the  life  of  the  emancipated  Jews  the  area  of  its 
operations  is  even  more  restricted  than  in  the  Ghetto. 
For  in  the  Ghetto  life,  stunted  though  it  be,  the  terms 
"  Jew  "  and  '*  man  "  are  at  least  coextensive ;  in  the 
outside  world  the  larger  part  of  the  man  belongs  irre- 
vocably to  another  form  of  life,  another  social  organ- 
ization, in  the  fashioning  of  which  the  Hebrew  spirit 
has  had  no  hand. 

Thus  the  Jew  cannot  be  himself  again,  cannot  live 
out  his  own  life  and  develop  his  essential  individual- 
ity, either  in  the  Ghetto  or  under  conditions  of  eman- 
cipation. What  he  needs  for  the  "  revival  of  the 
spirit "  is  the  possibility  of  combining  the  unadul- 
terated Jewishness  of  the  Ghetto  with  the  breadth  and 
freedom  of  modern  life.  And  this  combination  can 
only  be  rendered  possible  by  the  restoration  of  that 
element  which  has  been  lacking  in  Jewish  life  for  so 
many  centuries,  and  to  the  lack  of  which  the  present 
impotence  of  the  Hebrew  spirit  is  traceable.  What 
the  Jew  needs  is  a  soil  of  his  own,  a  fixed  centre  for 
his  national  life.  And  that  centre  can  be  found  only 
in  the  land  with  which  the  history  of  the  Jews  is  in- 
evitably bound  up,  which  has  been  the  goal  of  their 
most  cherished  aspirations  since  they  left  it  for  the 
wilderness  of  Galut,  which  is  one  of  the  fibres  of  their 
national  being.  Only  in  Palestine  can  the  Jew  become 
3 


34  INTRODUCTION 


once  more  a  Hebrew.  There  and  only  there  can  he 
take  up  the  thread  of  his  national  history,  and  begin 
over  again  the  eternal  pursuit  of  his  ideal.  There 
and  only  there  can  the  Hebrew  spirit  again  find  a 
body,  and  become  effectively  a  force  making  for  ab- 
solute righteousness. 

VI 

The  return  to  Palestine,  then,  is  essential.  But  this 
idea,  though  it  follows  inevitably  from  a  true  view 
of  Jewish  history,  cannot  be  widely  accepted  without 
a  revolution  in  thought.  The  Ghetto  Jew  still  cherishes 
the  hope  of  an  eventual  restoration,  and  of  the  ulti- 
mate establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  righteousness; 
but  the  centuries  of  cramping  and  stunting  have  made 
him  unable  to  realize  that  there  can  be  any  direct 
connection  between  the  ideal  and  life  as  it  is.  For  him 
the  longed-for  consummation  must  be  brought  about 
by  a  sudden  miracle  from  above,  not  by  a  process  of 
evolution  in  which  human  effort  plays  a  part.  Nay, 
he  has  even  come  to  regard  as  sacrilegious  any  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  mere  human  beings  to  hasten  the 
end.  The  emancipated  Jew,  again,  is  losing  his  hold 
on  the  ancestral  hope,  which  does  not  fit  with  ease 
into  his  scheme  of  things.  In  so  far  as  he  retains  the 
hope,  it  is  of  a  purely  spiritual  nature,  and  is  even 
more  emphatically  for  him  than  for  the  Ghetto  Jew 
a  thing  that  must  be  banned  from  the  sphere  of  prac- 
tical life,  since  his  immediate  ideals  can  only  be  those 
of  his  adopted  nation.     In  neither  case,  therefore,  is 


INTRODUCTION  35 


the  idea  of  a  return  to  Palestine  likely  to  find  ready 
acceptance.  In  both  cases  a  radical  change  is  neces- 
sary before  any  progress  can  be  made. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  see  by  what  means  that  change 
is  to  be  brought  about.  Hebraism  has  expressed  itself 
both  theoretically  and  practically;  and,  while  the 
practical  rebirth  of  the  Hebrew  spirit  can  only  take 
place  in  Palestine,  it  can  be  cultivated  on  the  theo- 
retical side  even  in  the  Diaspora,  by  a  study  of  the 
literature  in  which  it  is  enshrined.  That  literature 
is,  of  course,  a  literature  written  in  Hebrew :  for  body 
and  soul  are  one,  and  the  Hebrew  language  is  the 
natural  and  inevitable  vesture  of  Hebraic  thought. 
Hence  the  immediate  step  towards  the  solution  of  the 
Jewish  question  is  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  their  own 
"  spiritual  possessions  " — to  the  Hebrew  language  and 
literature.  Only  by  learning  to  understand  and  to 
value  the  ideas  for  which  they  have  stood  in  the  past 
can  they  become  capable  of  desiring  to  stand  for 
something  in  the  present  and  the  future.  They  must 
grasp  and  assimilate  Hebraism  as  a  way  of  thought 
and  an  outlook  on  life — as  a  "  culture  " — before  they 
can  attain  either  the  will  or  the  power  to  embody 
Hebraism  in  practice. 

Now  the  study  of  the  Hebrew  language  and  litera- 
ture is  not  dead,  either  in  the  Ghetto  or  among  eman- 
cipated Jews ;  and  its  value  is  so  generally  recognized 
(at  least  in  theory)  by  the  Jewish  people,  that  any 
advocacy  of  its  claims  is  like  forcing  an  open  door. 
But  what  Ahad  Ha-" Am  demands  is  not  the  study  of 


36  INTRODUCTION 


the  Hebrew  language  and  literature  as  it  is  pursued 
at  present  either  within  or  without  the  Ghetto.  In 
the  one  case,  devotion  to  the  past  involves  the  sacrifice 
of  the  breadth  and  fulness  of  life  in  the  present;  in 
the  other  case,  the  study  of  Hebrew  literature  is 
mainly  a  pursuit  of  the  antiquarian  and  the  archeolo- 
gist,  and  even  so  it  tends  ( for  a  reason  which  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  mention  later)  gradually  to  lose  its 
hold  on  the  intellectual  element  of  emancipated  Jewry, 
and  to  be  driven  out  of  the  field  by  non- Jewish  culture. 
But  the  study  that  is  to  lead  to  the  rebirth  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit  must  have  throughout  a  conscious  rela- 
tion to  its  end.  Its  touch  must  be  the  touch  of  life, 
not  that  of  death.  It  must  not  kill  either  the  present, 
like  the  Ghetto  student,  or  the  past,  like  the  emanci- 
pated Jewish  antiquarian;  it  must  make  past  and 
present  a  living,  organic  whole  in  the  world  of  ideas, 
in  order  that  it  may  fructify  in  the  creation  of  a  living, 
organic  whole  in  the  world  of  fact.  It  was  in  this 
spirit  that  Ahad  Ha-' Am  once  projected  a  great 
Hebrew  Encyclopedia,  which  should  do  for  the  Jews 
something  like  what  the  French  Encyclopedia  did  for 
the  French  people.  It  would  be,  as  the  Talmud  was 
of  old,  a  storehouse  of  Hebraism,  restating  the 
Hebrew  point  of  view  in  terms  adapted  to  modern 
ideas  and  methods  of  historical  research.  Such  an 
encyclopedia  would  not  be  a  collection  of  dead  facts 
for  the  use  of  the  antiquarian.  It  would  be  a  living 
literary  expression  of  the  Hebrew  spirit,  and  would 
impress  that  spirit  on  the  minds  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion of  Jews. 


INTRODUCTION  37 


But  it  must  not  be  thought  that  this  educating 
process  can  be  satisfactorily  carried  on  under  present 
conditions.  The  return  to  an  understanding  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit,  which  has  Palestine  for  its  goal,  can- 
not be  attained  without  the  help  of  Palestine.  The 
ancient  land  of  the  Hebrews  must  play  its  part  in  the 
reintegration  of  Hebraism  on  the  theoretical  as  well 
as  on  the  practical  side.  The  immediate  function  of 
Palestine  is  to  be  a  "  spiritual  centre  "  of  Hebraism : 
the  seat  of  a  small  settlement  of  Jews,  not  necessarily 
independent  in  the  political  sense,  but  free  from  the 
cramping  conditions  of  the  Ghetto,  and  drawing  in- 
spiration for  its  work  of  learning  and  teaching  from 
the  life-giving  touch  of  the  native  soil  of  Hebraism, 
From  this  centre  a  new  life  would  be  breathed  into 
the  dead  bones  of  the  scattered  Jewish  people ;  and 
the  "  revival  of  the  spirit,"  receiving  its  impulse  from 
Palestine,  would  result  in  the  further  strengthening  of 
the  Palestinian  settlement.  But  without  this  "  spirit- 
ual centre  "  the  work  of  national  regeneration  in  the 
Diaspora  cannot  make  headway  against  the  forces  of 
assimilation.  Hence  the  return  to  Palestine  must 
precede  as  well  as  follow  the  restoration  of  Jewish 
culture  to  its  proper  place  in  the  lives  of  Jews  in  other 
lands.  It  must  be  undertaken  at  once  by  the  remnant 
in  whom  the  national  consciousness  has  been  neither 
sublimated  into  a  pious  aspiration  nor  crushed  by  the 
weight  of  a  foreign  culture.  It  will  be  the  work  of 
these  pioneers  to  make  Palestine  a  magnet  for  larger 
sections  of  those  yet  unborn  generations  to  whom  the 


38  INTRODUCTION 


"  spiritual  centre  "  will  give  a  true  conception  of  their 
birthright  and  their  destiny. 

VII 

Such  is,  in  outline,  Ahad  Ha-'Am's  presentment  of 
the  Jewish  problem,  and  the  solution  which  he  offers. 
His  attitude  toward  the  two  other  solutions  which  are 
advocated  in  modern  times  can  be  indicated  briefly,  as 
it  is  the  natural  result  of  his  own  positive  standpoint. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  he  should  show  much 
sympathy  with  those  who  hold  that  not  only  the  sur- 
vival of  the  Jews,  but  their  survival  as  a  homeless  and 
scattered  people,  is  necessary  in  order  that  they  may 
fulfil  their  "  mission  " — that  is,  in  order  that  they  may 
be  a  light  to  the  nations,  and  lead  them  in  the  path  of 
righteousness.  Philosophically,  this  theory  has  a  tele- 
ological  basis  which  is  repugnant  to  him.  But  his 
objection  does  not  rest  solely  on  abstract  grounds. 
The  facts  of  Jewish  life  do  not  square  with  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  "  mission  "  theory,  whatever  may  be 
its  metaphysical  justification.  So  far  as  the  congested 
masses  of  Jews  in  Eastern  Europe  are  concerned, 
nobody  could  claim  that  they  are  or  could  be  accepted 
by  the  nations  which  rob  them  of  human  rights  as  a 
pattern  and  an  inspiration.  The  privilege  of  a  "  mis- 
sion" is  only  claimed  for  the  emancipated  minority 
of  Jews.  But  the  very  conditions  of  emancipation  rob 
that  minority  of  the  power  to  embody  Hebrew  ideals  in 
its  own  life  so  fully  as  to  impress  them  by  force  of 
example  on  the  life  of  the  nations.    Dominated  as  they 


INTRODUCTION  39 


are  by  the  culture  of  their  environment,  emancipated 
Jews  lack  not  only  the  opportunity,  but  also — what  is 
worse — the  desire  to  preserve  their  spiritual  kinship 
with  their  own  past.  The  "  misbion  "  postulates  a 
spiritual  separateness  which  can  only  be  maintained  if 
Jews  are  spiritually  fed  on  the  products  of  the 
Hebrew  genius ;  but  the  training  of  the  average  eman- 
cipated Jew  differs  very  little  from  that  of  his  non- 
Jewish  neighbor.  And  this  state  of  things  is  inevit- 
able so  long  as  the  Jew  can  attain  fulness  of  life  only 
through  more  or  less  complete  assimilation.  If  the 
Jews  are  to  perform  a  "  mission,"  they  must  work  out 
their  ideals  in  their  own  life  first  of  all :  and  for  tha-t 
they  must  have  a  concrete  basis  of  their  own.  The 
"  mission  "  theory  is  in  fact  the  view  of  the  Essenes 
over  again :  it  expects  the  spirit  to  live  without  a  body. 
With  the  other  modern  solution  of  the  problem — 
that  which  is  known  as  Zionism — Ahad  Ha-' Am  is 
naturally  in  closer  sympathy:  for  Zionism  demands, 
no  less  than  his  own  theory,  the  restoration  of  Jewish 
life  in  Palestine.  It  is  not  surprising  that  he  went  to 
the  first  Zionist  Congress ;  but  it  is  not  surprising, 
either,  that  he  came  away  disappointed.  For  he  found 
that  the  similarity  between  his  own  ideal  and  that  of 
the  Zionist  movement  was  only  external.  The  Zionists 
seemed  to  be  trying  to  save  the  body  of  the  Jewish 
people,  not  its  soul.  Like  the  Sadducees,  they  would 
have  the  corporate  national  existence  at  all  costs, 
without  regard  to  the  spirit  which  it  might  express. 
But  for  him  body  without  soul  was  as  meaningless  as 


40  INTRODUCTION 


soul  without  body.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss 
how  far  the  more  recent  development  of  Zionism  has 
brought  it  nearer  to  his  ideal.  But  in  its  earlier  years, 
at  any  rate,  Herzl's  movement  could  no  more  satisfy 
him  than  the  "  mission  "  theory.  For  him  the  only 
possible  way  was  and  is  that  of  the  Pharisees — the 
union  of  body  and  soul,  the  revival  of  the  Hebrew 
spirit  through  the  creation  of  a  concrete  Jewish  life  in 
Palestine. 


SACRED  AND  PROFANE 
(1891) 

Between  things  sacred  and  profane  there  is  this 
difference  among  others.  In  profane  matters  the 
instrument  derives  its  worth  from  the  end,  and  is  valued 
for  the  most  part  only  in  so  far  as  it  is  a  means  to 
that  end ;  and  consequently  we  change  the  instruments 
as  the  end  demands,  and  finally,  when  the  end  is  no 
longer  pursued,  the  instruments  automatically  fall  into 
disuse.  But  in  sacred  matters  the  end  invests  the  in- 
strument with  a  sanctity  of  its  own.  Consequently, 
there  is  no  changing  or  varying  of  the  instrument ;  and 
when  the  end  has  ceased  to  be  pursued,  the  instrument 
does  not  fall  out  of  use,  but  is  directed  towards  another 
end.  In  other  words :  in  the  one  case  we  preserve  the 
shell  for  the  sake  of  the  kernel,  and  discard  the  shell 
when  we  have  eaten  the  kernel ;  in  the  other  case  we 
raise  the  shell  to  the  dignity  of  the  kernel,  and  do  not 
rob  it  of  that  dignity  even  if  the  kernel  withers,  but 
make  a  new  kernel  for  it. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  were  accustomed  on  certain 
festivals  to  use  only  vessels  of  stone.  This  custom 
was  a  survival  from  the  Stone  Age,  when  the  human 
race  did  not  know  how  to  use  other  minerals  ^ ;  and  it 
survived  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  subsequently  the 

^  Lubbock. 


42  SACRED  AND  PROFANE 

Egyptians  learned  to  make  vessels  of  better  material. 
That  is  to  say,  for  ordinary  purposes  they  had  no 
difficulty  in  changing  a  worse  instrument  for  a  better ; 
but  on  sacred  days  they  did  not  dare  to  drive  out  the  old 
before  the  new,  because  here  the  instrument  itself  had 
become  sacred.  No  doubt  the  Egyptian  priests  sought 
and  found  weighty  esoteric  reasons  for  this  custom ; 
that  is,  they  sought  and  found  a  new  end  for  an 
outworn  instrument,  a  new  kernel  for  an  empty  shell. 

Take  an  instance  nearer  home.  Why  do  we  Jews 
continue  to  write  the  Law  only  on  parchment,  in  man- 
uscript, and  in  scroll  form?  Wherefore  all  this 
trouble  four  hundred  years  after  Gutenberg?  It  is 
because  our  ancestors,  in  common  with  the  rest  of  the 
human  race,  used  to  make  all  their  books  in  this 
fashion  in  the  days  when  the  Temple  stood,  and  when 
the  world  knew  no  better  means  than  this.  For  our 
ordinary  books,  of  course,  we  use  the  improved 
modern  methods ;  but  in  the  case  of  books  devoted  to 
sacred  purposes,  everything,  even  the  mode  of  writing, 
is  sacred. 

We  find  the  same  distinction  within  the  sphere  of 
books  itself.  Profane  books  (except  poetry,  the  whole 
essence  of  which  lies  in  its  beautiful  shell)  are  nothing 
but  instruments  for  imparting  knowledge  of  a  certain 
subject-matter,  nothing  but  shells  of  the  ideas  con- 
tained in  them.  Hence,  as  knowledge  of  the  subject- 
matter  grows  and  spreads,  so  does  the  book  itself 
sink  more  and  more  into  oblivion.  Thus  the  books  of 
most  importance  in  the  history  of  man's  intellectual 


SACRED  AND  PROFANE  43 

development,  books  whose  content  has  become  com- 
mon property  for  all  time,  lie  on  remote  shelves  in  our 
libraries,  and  are  but  seldom  opened.  The  theories 
of  Copernicus,  Kepler,  and  Newton  are  imparted  to 
the  young  students  in  our  schools;  but  even  among 
trained  physicists  there  are  few  who  have  drawn  their 
knowledge  of  these  theories  from  the  original  sources. 
Plato's  works,  again,  that  mighty  river  of  whose  waters 
we  drink  even  to-day  through  so  many  channels — 
how  many  are  there  now  who  read  them,  or  even  know 
their  names?  Maybe  we  grieve  to  see  that  even  the 
children  of  the  spirit  are  not  immortal,  that  in  the 
fulness  of  days  each  is  forgotten  when  its  work  is 
done ;  and  one  might  well  believe  that  if  the  authors  of 
these  books  had  had  the  choice,  they  would  have  asked 
that  their  teachings  should  not  spread  so  widely  as  to 
enable  their  books  to  be  forgotten.  But  they  had  not 
the  choice,  and,  though  the  heart  may  grieve,  stern 
logic  finds  that  thus  it  must  be:  when  we  have  eaten 
the  kernel,  we  have  no  more  use  for  the  shell. 

Thus  it  is  with  profane  books  ;  but  with  sacred  books 
it  is  otherwise.  Here  the  content  sanctifies  the  book, 
and  subsequently  the  book  becomes  the  essential,  and 
the  content  the  accident.  The  book  remains  un- 
changed forever ;  the  content  changes  ceaselessly  witK 
the  progress  of  life  and  culture.  What  is  there  that 
men  have  not  found  in  our  sacred  books,  from  Philo's 
day  to  this  ?  In  Alexandria  they  found  Plato  in  them ; 
in  Spain,  Aristotle ;  the  Cabbalists  found  their  own 
teaching,  and  the  followers  of  other  religions  theirs; 


44  SACRED  AND  PROFANE 

nay,  some  pious  scholars  have  even  found  in  them 
Copernicus  and  Darwin.  All  these  men  sought  in 
Scripture  only  the  truth — each  one  his  ov^n  truth — and 
all  found  that  which  they  sought.  They  found  it  be- 
cause they  had  to  find  it:  because  if  they  had  not  found 
it,  then  truth  would  not  have  been  truth,  or  the  Scrip- 
tures would  not  have  been  holy. 

And  yet  we  have  among  us  "  Reformers "  who 
think  that  we  can  strip  the  shell  of  practical  observ- 
ance from  our  religion,  and  retain  only  the  kernel,  the 
abstract  beliefs ;  or,  again,  that  we  can  strip  our  sacred 
writings  of  their  original  language,  and  retain  only 
their  kernel  in  translations.  Both  fail  alike  to  see  that 
it  is  just  the  ancient  cask  with  its  ancient  form  that  is 
holy,  and  sanctifies  all  that  is  in  it,  though  it  may  be 
emptied  and  filled  with  new  wine  from  time  to  time ; 
whereas,  if  once  the  cask  is  broken  or  remoulded,  the 
wine  will  lose  its  taste,  though  it  be  never  so  old. 

The  Reformers  fail  to  see  this ;  but  the  people 
as  a  whole  has  always  acted  as  though  it  felt  this 
truth  by  some  natural  instinct.  The  people  has  not 
violently  attacked  those  of  its  teachers  who  have  filled 
its  cask  with  new  wine  from  foreign  vintages,  like 
Maimonides  and  his  school ;  on  the  contrary,  it  has 
never  ceased  to  honor  and  reverence  them.  But  the 
Karaites  and  such,  who  dared  to  lay  a  hand  on  the 
holy  cask,  and  change  its  form  according  to  their  own 
ideas — these  have  had  but  short  shrift,  despite  all 
protests  and  assurances  that  their  wine  was  the  real 
old  wine,  which  had  lain  long  years  in  the  cellar, 
untouched. 


SACRED  AND  PROFANE  45 

Laugh  who  will  at  this  zealous  regard  for  the  cask : 
the  history  of  those  who  have  treasured  the  wine  will 
give  him  pause. ^ 

*  [An  allusion  to  a  Talmudic  legend  (Baba  Batra,  i6')  ac- 
cording to  which,  when  God  told  Satan  that  he  might  do  what 
he  liked  with  Job,  but  must  save  his  life,  Satan  replied  that  he 
might  as  well  have  been  told  to  break  the  cask  and  preserve  the 
wine.] 


JUSTICE  AND  MERCY 
(1891) 

The  difference  between  Justice  and  Mercy  is  only 
this,  that  Justice  measures  the  cause  by  the  effect, 
Mercy  the  effect  by  the  cause.  That  is  to  say,  Justice 
regards  only  the  character  of  the  deed,  and  judges 
the  doer  accordingly ;  Mercy  considers  first  the  char- 
acter of  the  doer  at  the  moment  of  the  deed,  and 
judges  the  deed  accordingly. 

For  instance :  the  Law  says,  "  Thou  shalt  not  steal." 
If  a  man  transgresses  and  steals,  "  he  shall  surely 
pay."  So  far  all  will  agree.  But  what  if  he  has  not 
the  w^herewithal  ?  Justice  answers,  "  If  he  have  noth- 
ing, then  he  shall  be  sold  for  his  theft ; "  Mercy 
says,  "  Men  do  not  despise  a  thief,  if  he  steal  to  satisfy 
his  soul  when  he  is  hungry."  Justice  judges  the 
theft,  Mercy  the  thief. 

Or  again:  it  is  a  well-know^n  fact  that  parents  gen- 
erally transmit  their  moral  characteristics  to  their  chil- 
dren. But  w^hile  Justice  drew  from  this  fact  the  infer- 
ence that  the  sins  of  the  fathers  should  be  visited  on 
the  children,  Mercy  in  our  time  has  extracted  a  teach- 
ing of  opposite  import:  that  the  sins  of  the  children 
may  be  forgiven  if  they  are  an  inheritance  from  the 
fathers.  Justice  seeks  to  exterminate  sin;  Mercy 
regards  only  the  sinner. 


JUSTICE  AND  MERCY  47 

According  to  an  ancient  legend,  the  Creator  in- 
tended at  first  to  create  His  world  by  the  attribute  of 
Justice  alone,  and  it  was  only  afterwards  that  He 
repented  Him,  and  joined  with  it  the  attribute  of 
Mercy.  In  truth,  we  find  that  the  attribute  of  Justice 
precedes  that  of  Mercy  in  the  process  of  moral  de- 
velopment, both  in  individuals  and  in  nations.  Chil- 
dren, and  nations  in  their  childhood,  distinguish  only 
between  deeds,  not  between  doers.  They  exterminate 
evil  by  rooting  out  the  evil-doers  and  all  that  is  con- 
nected with  them;  they  do  not  discriminate  between 
the  sin  of  error  and  the  sin  of  presumption,  between 
the  sin  of  compulsion  and  the  sin  of  freewill,  between 
the  sin  committed  with  knowledge  and  that  committed 
in  ignorance.  The  angry  child  breaks  the  thing  over 
which  he  has  stumbled;  nations  in  the  stage  of  child- 
hood kill  the  beast  "  through  which  hurt  hath  come 
to  a  man."  It  is  only  at  a  later  stage  and  by  a  gradual 
process  that  Mercy  finds  its  way  first  into  the  human 
head,  to  refine  our  moral  ideas,  and  then  also  into  the 
human  heart,  to  purify  and  to  soften  the  feelings. 

First  we  have  the  judicial  pronouncement:  "  Whoso 
sheddeth  man's  blood  "  (whether  in  error  or  of  evil 
intent),  "his  blood  shall  be  shed."  The  deed  itself, 
the  blood  that  has  been  shed,  demands  recompense 
from  the  doer ;  and  "  the  land  cannot  be  cleansed  .... 
but  by  the  blood  of  him  that  shed  it."  In  the  fulness  of 
time  man  comes  to  understand  that  the  unintentional 
homicide  is  "  not  worthy  of  death ;  "  but  even  when  that 
stage  has  been  reached,  it  is  long  before  he  can  restrain 


48  JUSTICE  AND  MERCY 

the  feelings  of  his  untamed  heart,  which  demands  ven- 
geance for  blood.  It  is  at  this  stage  that  nations  set 
aside  cities  of  refuge  for  the  benefit  of  the  homicide, 
"  lest  the  avenger  of  the  blood  pursue  the  slayer,  while 
his  heart  is  hot." 

"  The  Law  exonerates  him  who  acts  under  com- 
pulsion :  "  ^  for  us  this  is  axiomatic.  But  there  was  a 
time  when  this  principle  needed  proofs  and  examples 
to  secure  its  acceptance,  and  so  we  read :  "  But 
unto  the  damsel  thou  shalt  do  nothing;  there  is  in  the 
damsel  no  sin  worthy  of  death :  for  as  when  a  man 
riseth  against  his  neighbor,  and  slayeth  him,  even  so 
is  this  matter:  for  he  found  her  in  the  field,  and  the 
betrothed  damsel  cried,  and  there  was  none  to  save 
her."  The  Law  does  not  usually  give  reasons  for  its 
ordinances  in  this  fashion ;  but  it  was  recognized  that 
here  was  a  great  innovation,  opposed  to  popular  ideas. 

The  legend  quoted  above  says  that  the  Creator 
joined  the  attribute  of  Mercy  with  that  of  Justice, 
not  that  He  substituted  the  one  for  the  other.  In 
truth,  ]\Iercy  is  of  value  only  when  it  is  combined  with 
Justice.  Mercy  stands  high  on  the  ladder  of  moral 
development ;  but  Justice  is  the  moral  foundation  on 
which  the  ladder  stands. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  mankind  would  not  have 
struggled  hard  to  climb  the  moral  ladder,  if  not  for 
the  fear  of  that  inward  monitor,  which  tells  a  man  of 
his  sin  in  the  secret  recesses  of  his  soul,  and  gnaws 
his  heart,   and  says,  "  Qimb  upwards :  cleanse  thy- 

'  [Baba  Kamma,  29*.] 


JUSTICE  AND  MERCY  49 

self."  This  inward  voice,  which  we  call  "  conscience," 
or  (in  more  mystical  phrase)  "  the  voice  of  God  mov- 
ing in  the  heart  of  man,"  is  in  reality  nothing  but  the 
echo  of  a  man's  own  pronouncement  on  the  sins  of 
others:  so  it  has  been  well  explained  by  Adam  Smith 
and  his  followers.  Every  man  is  accustomed  from  his 
earliest  years  to  see  his  parents  and  his  teachers  pro- 
nouncing condemnation  on  every  act  of  wrong-doing ; 
and  so  he  learns  to  do  the  same  himself.  In  time 
habit  becomes  second  nature,  and  when  he  meets  an 
act  of  wrong-doing,  he  not  merely  condemns  it  with 
his  lips,  but  actually  experiences  a  feeling  of  moral 
indignation  or  loathing.  This  feeling,  accompanying 
the  phenomenon  of  sin,  becomes  ever  (as  is  the  way 
of  all  feelings)  more  and  more  closely  connected  with 
the  phenomenon  that  gives  rise  to  it ;  until  at  last  the 
tie  becomes  so  strong  that  the  two  can  no  longer  be 
severed,  even  if  both  the  phenomenon  and  the  feeling 
are  predicable  of  the  same  person.  So,  when  a  man's 
conscience  pricks  him,  he  is,  for  the  moment,  a 
double  personality ;  it  is  as  though  the  conscience  (that 
is,  the  feeling  that  accompanies  the  phenomenon)  were 
a  separate  being,  hurling  reproaches  at  its  possessor, 
and  saying:  "Wretch!  What  would  you  have  said,  if 
you  had  seen  others  acting  thus  ?  " 

The  moral  ideas  that  flourish  in  the  atmosphere  of 
society,  and  become  implanted  in  the  mind  of  each 
individual  through  education  and  social  intercourse — 
these,  then,  are  the  real  source  of  the  inward  moral 
voice.  Thus,  so  long  as  the  feeling  of  Justice  predomi- 
4 


so  JUSTICE  AND  MERCY 

nates,  men  become  accustomed  from  their  youth  to 
hate  abstract  evil  as  such,  and  to  loathe  evil-doers, 
without  much  inquiry  into  the  distant  causes  that  have 
led  to  the  evil  act ;  and,  by  a  further  development,  they 
learn  to  gauge  their  own  actions  also  by  the  measure 
with  which  they  gauge  the  actions  of  others.  It  is 
not  so  when  the  atmosphere  is  one  of  Mercy  only. 
Then  it  is  not  the  evil  deed,  but  the  evil  will  that 
awakens  the  moral  feeling;  then  a  man  is  absolved 
from  Justice,  if  he  can  be  excused  by  an  appeal  to  the 
hidden  facts  of  his  spiritual  life.  Such  an  atmosphere 
as  this  does  not  encourage  the  utterance  of  "  man's 
pronouncement  on  the  sins  of  others ; "  and  therefore 
the  inward  echo  of  this  voice — conscience — is  also 
silent. 

Yet  in  every  generation  Mercy  has  its  apostles — 
the  men  who  climb  the  moral  ladder  till  they  reach  the 
level  of  absolute  Mercy.  They  believe,  in  their  sim- 
plicity, that  if  all  mankind  mounted  with  them  to  this 
height,  the  world  would  become  a  Garden  of  Eden ; 
and  so  they  teach  their  followers,  "  Judge  every  man 
favorably."  ^  The  pupils  argue,  rightly  enough,  that 
they,  too,  are  men ;  and  so  they  apply  this  teaching  to 
themselves  first  of  all.  It  is  for  the  most  part  difficult 
to  find  excuses  for  another  man,  to  penetrate  into  his 
spiritual  life,  and  seek  there  the  psychological  cause  of 
his  transgression ;  but  it  is  all  too  easy  for  a  man  to 
be  always  finding  excuses  for  himself,  seeing  that  in 
reality  even  our  "  free  "  actions  are  bound  and  knit 

'  [Pirke  Abot,  i.  6.] 


JUSTICE  AND  MERCY  51 

by  thousands  of  slender  threads,  seen  and  unseen,  to 
various  causes  that  precede  them  in  the  inner  life. 
It  may  be  that  a  man  cannot  always  find  these  chains, 
cannot  always  understand  how  the  sin  came  to  be  com- 
mitted, why  he  chose  evil ;  but  he  always  feels  that 
some  hidden  hand  influenced  his  choice,  that  some 
"  spirit  of  folly "  entered  into  him  at  that  moment. 
And  so  the  fault  is  not  his ;  the  hidden  cause  is  to 
blame. 

When  our  apostles  of  Mercy  see  that  the  only  result 
of  their  teaching  is  to  enable  men  to  justify  themselves, 
they  attempt  to  put  matters  right  by  carrying  their 
original  error  a  stage  further,  and  adding  another 
precept,  "  Judge  not  thy  fellow  until  thou  hast  come 
into  his  place."  ^  That  is  to  say,  if  you  cannot  judge 
another  man  favorably,  do  not  judge  him  at  all  until 
you  have  been  in  his  position :  then,  when  it  is  your 
own  soul  instead  of  his,  you  will  understand  his  feel- 
ings, and  it  will  not  be  difficult  for  you  to  excuse  him 
as  you  would  excuse  yourself. 

Here,  then,  Mercy  has  reached  its  uttermost  limit: 
the  abolition  of  all  judgments,  a  general  pardon  to  all 
men  for  all  actions.  But  how  has  it  reached  this  point  ? 
Its  path  has  been  exactly  the  opposite  of  that  pursued 
by  the  moral  sentiment  in  its  natural  development. 
The  moral  sentiment  finds  the  criterion  of  morality  in 
the  social  atmosphere,  and  by  this  criterion  measures 
first  others,  and  then  itself;  whereas  Mercy  allows 
a  man  first  of  all  to  measure  himself  by  any  criterion 

^[Pirke  Abot,  ii.  5.] 


52  JUSTICE  AND  MERCY 

that  he  may  choose,  only  on  condition  that  he  proceed 
next  to  apply  the  same  standard  to  others. 

This  doctrine,  if  it  were  universally  followed,  might 
well  reduce  the  world  to  a  condition  of  moral  chaos. 
The  moral  sentiment,  robbed  of  all  external  assistance 
and  support,  would  gradually  be  uprooted  from  the 
human  heart.  But,  happily  for  mankind,  the  multitude 
is  not  large-hearted  enough  for  this  doctrine  of  Mercy, 
which,  despite  all  the  honor  lavished  upon  it,  will  never 
be  more  than  a  beautiful  phrase  of  the  moralists.  It 
is  not  such  phrases  that  stir  the  moral  atmosphere,  but 
the  needs  of  life,  individual  and  social.  Our  individual 
needs  do,  indeed,  whisper  to  us  sometimes,  "  Judge  thy 
fellow  unfavorably,  in  order  that  thou  mayest  come 
into  his  place  " — that  is,  gain  esteem  from  his  disgrace, 
and  benefit  by  his  downfall.  But,  on  the  other  side, 
the  needs  of  society  tell  us,  "  In  righteousness  shalt 
thou  .judge  thy  neighbor:"  judge  him,  yes;  but  in 
righteousness:  and  so  learn  to  judge  yourself  also, 
when  you  find  yourself  in  his  place. 

There  are  in  every  generation  a  few  righteous  men 
who  arrive  at  this  middle  position — not  beloved  of  the 
apostles  of  Mercy — after  a  hard  struggle  with  that 
whisper  of  the  Self ;  who  by  dint  of  habit  come  tO' 
make  Justice  a  need  of  the  individual  Ego.  These 
are  the  men  who  bear  the  banner  of  moral  progress, 
the  end  of  which  is  to  make  peace  between  the  indi- 
vidual needs  and  the  social,  and  to  impose  on  both  one 
single  law — the  law  of  Righteousness. 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 
(1891) 

Even  when  the  world  as  a  whole  is  at  peace,  there 
is  no  rest  or  peace  for  its  inhabitants.  Penetrate  to 
the  real  life,  be  it  of  worms  or  of  men,  and  beneath 
the  veil  of  peace  you  will  find  an  incessant  struggle 
for  existence,  a  constant  round  of  aggression  and 
spoliation,  in  which  every  victory  involves  a  defeat 
and  a  death. 

Yet  we  do  distinguish  between  time  of  war  and 
time  of  peace.  We  reserve  the  term  "  war "  for  a 
visible  struggle  between  two  camps,'  such  as  occurs 
but  seldom — a  struggle  that  we  can  observe,  whose 
causes  and  effects  we  can  trace,  from  beginning  to 
end.  But  to  all  the  continual  petty  wars  between  man 
and  man,  of  which  we  know  in  a  general  way  that  they 
are  in  progress,  but  of  which  we  cannot  envisage  all  the 
details  and  particulars,  we  give  the  name  of  "  peace," 
because  such  is  the  normal  condition  of  things. 

In  the  spiritual  world  also  there  is  war  and  peace; 
and  here  also  "  peace  "  means  nothing  but  a  number 
of  continual  petty  wars  that  we  cannot  see — wars  of 
idea  against  idea,  of  demand  against  demand,  of  custom 
against  custom.  The  very  slightest  change  in  any  de- 
partment of  life — as,  for  instance,  the  substitution 
of  one  letter  for  another  in  the  spelling  of  a  word — 


54  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

can  only  be  brought  about  by  a  battle  and  a  victory ; 
but  these  tiny  events  happen  silently,  and  escape  obser- 
vation at  the  time.  It  is  only  afterwards,  when  the 
sum  total  of  all  the  changes  has  become  a  considerable 
quantity,  that  men  of  intelligence  look  backwards,  and 
find  to  their  astonishment  that  everything — opinions, 
modes  of  life,  speech,  pronunciation — has  undergone 
vast  changes.  These  changes  appear  to  have  taken 
place  automatically;  we  do  not  know  in  detail  when 
they  came  about,  or  through  whose  agency. 

Peace,  then,  is  the  name  that  we  give  to  a  con- 
tinuous, gradual  development.  But  in  the  spiritual 
world,  as  in  the  material,  there  is  sometimes  a  state 
of  war ;  that  is,  a  visible  struggle  between  two  spiritual 
camps,  two  complete  systems,  the  one  new,  the  other 
old.  The  preparations  for  such  a  war  are  made  under 
cover,  deep  down  in  the  process  of  continuous  devel- 
opment. It  is  only  when  all  is  in  readiness  that  the 
war  breaks  out  openly,  with  all  its  drums  and  tramp- 
lings  ;  and  then  a  short  space  of  time  sees  the  most 
far-reaching  changes. 

The  character  of  these  changes,  as  well  as  the  general 
course  of  the  w^ar,  depends  chiefly  on  the  character  of 
the  new  system  of  thought  that  raises  the  storm.  They 
differ  according  as  the  system  is  wholly  positive, 
wholly  negative,  or  partly  positive  and  partly  negative. 

A  new  positive  system  comes  into  existence  when 
the  process  of  continuous  development  produces  in 
the  minds  of  a  select  few  some  new  positive  concept. 
This  may  be  either  a  belief  in  some  new  truth  not 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE  55 

hitherto  accepted  by  society,  or  the  consciousness  of 
some  new  need  not  hitherto  felt  by  society;  generally 
the  two  go  together.  This  new  conception,  in  accord- 
ance with  a  well-known  psychological  law,  gives  rise 
to  other  conceptions  of  a  like  nature,  all  of  which 
strengthen  one  another,  and  become  knit  together,  till 
at  last  they  form  a  complete  system.  The  centre-point 
of  the  system  is  the  new  positive  principle ;  and  round 
this  centre  are  grouped  a  number  of  different  beliefs, 
feelings,  impulses,  needs,  and  so  forth,  which  depend 
on  it  and  derive  their  unity  from  it. 

A  new  system  such  as  this,  though  essentially  and 
originally  it  is  wholly  positive,  cannot  help  including 
unconsciously  some  element  of  negation.  That  is  to 
say,  it  cannot  help  coming  into  contact,  on  one  side  or 
another,  with  some  existing  system  that  covers  the 
same  ground.  It  may  not  damage  the  essential  feature, 
the  centre,  of  the  old  system;  but  it  will  certainly 
damage  one  of  the  conceptions  on  its  circumference, 
or,  at  the  very  least,  it  will  lessen  the  strength  of  men's 
attachment  to  the  old  principles.  When,  therefore, 
the  reformers  begin  to  put  their  system  into  practice,  to 
strive  for  the  attainment  of  what  they  need  by  the 
methods  in  which  they  believe,  their  action  necessarily 
arouses  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  more  devoted 
adherents  of  the  old  system,  with  which  the  reformers 
have  unwittingly  come  into  conflict.  The  result  of  this 
opposition  is  that  the  new  system  spreads,  and  attracts 
to  its  ranks  all  those  who  are  adapted  to  receive  it. 
As  their  number   increases,   the   animosity   of   their 


56  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

opponents  grows  in  intensity;  and  so  the  opposition 
waxes  stronger  and  stronger,  until  it  becomes  war  to 
the  knife. 

At  first  the  disciples  of  the  new  teaching  are 
astounded  at  the  accusations  hurled  at  them.  They 
find  themselves  charged  with  attempting  to  overthrow 
established  principles  ;  and  they  protest  bitterly  that  no 
such  thought  ever  entered  their  minds.  They  protest 
with  truth :  for,  indeed,  their  whole  aim  is  to  add,  not 
to  take  away.  Intent  on  their  task  of  addition,  they 
overlook  the  negation  that  follows  at  its  heels ;  even 
when  the  negation  has  been  made  plain  by  their  oppo- 
nents, they  strive  to  keep  it  hidden  from  others,  and  to 
ignore  its  existence  themselves,  and  they  do  not  recog- 
nize the  artificiality  of  the  means  by  which  they  attain 
this  end. 

The  older  school,  on  the  other  hand,  who  derive 
all  their  inspiration  from  the  old  doctrine,  are  quick 
to  see  or  feel  the  danger  threatened  by  the  new  teach- 
ing; and  they  strive,  therefore,  to  uproot  the  young 
plant  while  it  is  still  tender.  But  as  a  rule  they  do  not 
succeed.  Despite  their  efforts,  the  new  system  finds 
its  proper  place ;  gradually  the  two  systems,  the  new 
and  the  old,  lose  some  of  their  more  sharply  opposed 
characteristics,  share  the  forces  of  society  between 
them  in  proportion  to  their  relative  strength,  and 
ultimately  come  to  terms  and  live  at  peace.  By  this 
process  society  has  been  enriched;  its  tree  of  life  has 
gained  a  new  branch ;  its  spiritual  equipment  has 
received  a  positive  addition. 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE  57 

It  was  by  such  a  process  as  this  that  philosophy 
found  its  way  into  Jewish  thought  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  First  of  all  a  new  positive  system  came  to 
birth  in  a  few  minds.  Their  need  was  for  the  under- 
standing of  natural  phenomena  and  human  life ;  their 
belief,  that  they  could  attain  this  end  by  means  of 
Arabic  philosophy.  There  followed  the  diffusion  of 
this  system;  the  opposition  of  the  Rabbis,  who  saw 
in  the  new  teaching  a  source  of  danger  to  another, 
older,  positive  system — the  Law  and  religious  observ- 
ance ;  then  the  apologetic  treatises  of  the  Reform- 
ers, who  denied  the  existence  of  the  danger ;  finally, 
a  compromise  between  the  Bible  and  philosophy,  re- 
sulting on  the  one  hand  in  "  rationalized  faith,"  on 
the  other  in  "  religious  philosophy." 

The  birth  and  development  of  Hasidism  in  modern 
times  followed  similar  lines.  First  there  was  a  new 
positive  system :  the  need  for  spiritual  exaltation  and 
enthusiasm,  the  belief  in  the  possibility  of  their  attain- 
ment through  the  service  of  God  as  a  joyful  perform- 
ance of  duty.  Then  the  system  spread ;  it  was  attacked 
by  the  Talmudists ;  the  new  sect  defended  themselves ; 
finally,  Hasidim  study  the  Talmud,  Talmudists  adopt 
Hasidism.  If  the  first  Hasidim  could  hear  the  great 
designs  attributed  to  them  in  our  generation,  as  though 
it  had  been  their  set  purpose  to  oppose  Rabbinic  teach- 
ing, they  would  be  at  a  loss  to  understand  them ;  just 
as  in  their  own  day  they  could  not  understand  why 
they  were  persecuted.  They  did  not  feel  that  in  their 
teaching  and  in  their  practice  there  was  an  element 


58  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

Opposed  to  any  tenet  accepted  and  held  sacred  by  the 
nation  as  a  whole.  On  the  contrary,  they  called  their 
persecutors  Alitnaggedim  (opposers)  :  unlike  Luther's 
disciples,  who  chose  the  name  of  Protestants  for 
themselves. 

Just  as  the  continuous  process  of  development  gives 
birth  to  new  positive  elements,  so  also  it  destroys  old 
positive  elements  in  individual  minds,  and  undermines 
some  of  the  needs  and  the  beliefs  on  which  the  social 
fabric  is  built.  The  result  is  that  these  individuals 
find  in  some  department  of  life,  each  one  in  the  sphere 
nearest  to  himself,  certain  excrescences  or  superfluities, 
the  removal  of  which  would,  in  their  opinion,  be  of 
benefit  to  the  world.  Then  these  negatives  find  each 
other,  on  the  principle  of  "  like  to  like  ;  "  they  stimulate 
and  strengthen  one  another,  until  they,  too,  become 
united  at  last  in  a  single  complete  system,  with  a  fun- 
damental and  universal  negative  as  its  centre-point. 
This  negative  attracts  to  its  banner  many  of  the  indi- 
viduals whose  attitude  is  negative  on  particular  points 
of  belief.  Hitherto  they  have  been  but  scattered  units, 
agreeing  (or  sometimes  disagreeing)  with  one  another 
as  regards  certain  particulars,  without  being  conscious 
of  their  inner  unity;  henceforth  they  form  a  single 
camp,  which  wages  war  against  an  existing  positive 
system — war  in  the  name  of  negation  and  destruction. 

The  result  of  such  a  war  is  usually  neither  a  decisive 
victory  for  one  side  nor  the  establishment  of  peace 
and  intercourse  between  the  two  opponents.  The 
result  is  absolute  and  eternal  separation.    Weary  and 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE  S9 

spent  with  the  stress  of  battle,  the  two  enemies  leave 
the  field  to  rest.  Those  who  believe  in  the  positive 
doctrine  return  to  their  former  system  of  life ;  the 
unbelievers  go  their  own  way,  and  form  a  separate 
sect  with  a  new  system.  This  negative  sect  represents 
a  step  backwards,  not  a  step  forwards ;  it  rubs  one 
inscription  from  the  slate  without  substituting  another. 
All  that  it  can  do  is  to  rewrite  what  it  has  left  in 
larger  letters,  until  the  gap  left  by  the  erasure  is  filled : 
that  is  to  say,  it  emphasizes  some  other,  older,  positive 
belief,  and  strives  to  unite  under  this  banner  all  the 
spiritual  forces  that  were  attached  to  the  positive 
belief  which  it  has  destroyed,  and  are  now  left  with- 
out a  rallying-point.  This  method  is  satisfactory  so 
long  as  the  new  sect  has  to  continue  fighting  its 
enemies.  The  very  negation,  gathering  all  its  forces 
to  conquer,  becomes  by  this  means  a  source  of  warmth 
and  life,  and  adds  strength  to  the  positive  element, 
which  was  left  untouched.  But  when  the  external  war 
is  at  an  end,  and  the  negation  sinks  back  into  what  it 
really  is,  mere  nothingness,  then  its  internal  life  also 
comes  to  a  standstill.  The  positive  content  of  its  creed 
shrinks  to  its  proper  proportions  ;  and  the  spiritual  life, 
half  emptied  of  its  content,  becomes  withered  and  im- 
poverished. 

The  sect  of  the  Karaites  is  an  excellent  example  of 
such  a  negative  movement.  Even  before  the  time  of 
Anan  there  were  men  whose  attitude  was  negative  on 
particular  points,  who  could  not  find  satisfaction  in 
the  disputations  of  the  Talmudic  schools  of  Babylon, 


6o  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

or  in  this  or  that  new-fangled  legal  pronouncement. 
But  they  were  not  united  in  a  single  sect,  so  long  as 
these  particular  negatives  did  not  group  themselves 
as  a  system  round  about  some  fundamental  negation. 
Anan  found  a  common  ground  for  them  all  in  the 
destruction  of  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  Oral 
Law,  and  the  denial  of  the  need  for  that  Law.  Im- 
mediately large  numbers  trooped  to  enlist  under  this 
banner,  and  became  a  single  army,  a  negative  sect. 
So  long  as  this  sect  persecuted  and  was  persecuted,  it 
lived  and  felt:  felt  a  burning  hatred  for  the  Talmud, 
and  a  boundless  love  for  the  Bible,  in  which  it  still 
believed.  But  so  soon  as  it  separated  itself  altogether 
from  the  body  of  the  people,  and  its  hatred  and  its 
love  no  longer  found  sustenance  in  the  spirit  of  oppo- 
sition, it  ceased  to  move,  and  so  lay  like  a  stone,  which 
none  has  turned  to  this  day. 

But  a  purely  negative  movement,  like  Karaism,  is  as 
a  matter  of  fact  extremely  rare.  Most  men  are  unable 
to  uproot  that  which  is  firmly  implanted  in  their  hearts, 
even  after  the  plant  has  withered.  Even  if  a  certain 
doctrine  no  longer  appeals  to  them  for  its  own  sake,  yet 
they  cannot  dispense  with  other  beliefs  and  spiritual 
needs  which  depend  on  it,  either  as  its  immediate 
results,  or  as  having  been  subsequently  combined  with 
it.  Such  men  anticipate  from  the  beginning  the  spirit- 
ual void  that  will  be  left  by  the  process  of  uprooting, 
and  so  they  shrink  back.  They  stand  and  wait,  these 
moderates  of  the  party  of  negation,  until  some  new 
positive  belief  comes  in  their  way,  capable  of  filling  up 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE  6i 

this  void,  and  of  becoming  a  new  centre  for  all  those 
feelings,  impulses,  and  so  forth,  hitherto  centred  on 
the  old  positive  belief,  which  they  now  wish  to  destroy. 
The  first  apostles  of  this  new  positive  belief  are  per- 
secuted by  the  conservatives,  who  reveal  the  hidden 
negation  that  it  contains ;  and  then  those  who  con- 
sciously stand  for  a  negation  have  a  new  lease  of  life. 
They  have  found  something  on  which  to  anchor :  they 
stand  forth  at  once  to  assist  the  persecuted,  and  accept 
the  new  positive  belief,  and  all  that  it  involves,  with 
extravagant  enthusiasm.  They  accept  it  without  over- 
much examination  or  inquiry,  because  the  important 
thing  for  them  is  not  the  positive  belief,  but  the  possi- 
bility, which  they  obtain  at  the  same  time,  of  holding  to 
their  negation.  In  proportion  as  they  scrutinize  the  old 
doctrine  in  all  its  details,  and  find  in  it  the  tiniest  and 
subtlest  flaws  and  shortcomings,  so  do  they  shut  their 
eyes  to  all  that  is  bad  in  the  new  creed.  On  this  they 
lavish  a  far  more  exaggerated  admiration  than  did  its 
first  propounders,  because,  whereas  for  the  latter  it  is 
but  a  part,  an  addition  to  the  old  doctrine,  for  these  it  is 
all  in  all,  and  they  must  needs  find  everything  in  it.  The 
originators  of  the  new  movement  are  at  first  opposed 
to  this  alliance,  thrust  on  them  by  men  whose  sole 
creed  is  a  negation.  But  the  persecution  meted  out 
to  both  alike  by  the  conservatives,  which  forces  them 
to  fight  for  life  together  on  the  same  field  of  battle, 
gradually  accustoms  them  to  this  alliance;  until  at 
length  they  become  in  fact  a  single  army,  devoted  to  a 
single  system.    This  system  is  a  combination  of  posi- 


(>2  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

tive  and  negative ;  but  the  one  party  accepts  the  posi- 
tive for  the  sake  of  the  negative,  while  the  other 
accepts  the  negative  for  the  sake  of  the  positive. 

A  war  of  this  kind  extends  over  many  years,  or 
even  over  many  generations.  As  a  rule  the  innovators 
have  at  first  the  upper  hand,  for  two  reasons.  On  the 
one  side,  it  is  difficult  to  restrain  the  force  of  skepti- 
cism, or  negation,  when  once  it  has  been  aroused ;  on 
the  other  side,  the  new  positive  belief  is  stronger  than 
the  old,  being  a  product  of  the  present,  and  therefore 
more  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  time  than  the 
belief  inherited  from  past  ages.  But  then  a  change 
comes.  The  innovators  believe  that  victory  is  at  hand ; 
they  cease  to  concentrate  all  their  forces  on  the  battle 
against  the  old  doctrine ;  and  many  of  them  begin  in- 
stead to  scrutinize  the  new  system  with  the  same  pene- 
trating gaze  to  which  hitherto  they  have  subjected 
only  the  old.  Naturally,  they  find  in  the  new  system 
also  withered  shoots  that  need  uprooting.  Nay,  more : 
when  they  take  stock  of  the  old  shoots  that  have  been 
weeded  out,  they  find  that  many  of  them  are  sound 
and  healthy,  that  skepticism  has  uprooted  them  un- 
necessarily, in  the  heat  of  opposition  to  the  received 
beliefs.  Thus  their  scrutiny  enlightens  them  in  two 
ways :  they  see  that  the  change  has  not  been  a  com- 
plete deliverance,  and  that  in  many  respects  their  loss 
has  exceeded  their  gain.  Too  much  of  the  old  has 
been  removed ;  and  the  gap  cannot  wholly  be  filled  by 
the  new. 

At  this  stage  the  camp  of  the  new  movement  is  full 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE  63 

of  sects  and  small  parties  of  all  conceivable  kinds. 
Those  who  feel  dissatisfied  pursue  some  ideal,  look 
for  some  means  of  satisfying  their  souls ;  and  as  they 
wander  this  way  and  that,  they  move  away  from  the 
main  body,  some  forwards,  others  backwards.  But 
neither  party  finds  the  rest  that  it  seeks.  Artificial 
ideals  cannot  long  satisfy  a  natural  need.  Thus  in 
the  end  many  of  them  despair ;  they  become  accus- 
tomed to  a  life  of  spiritual  emptiness,  and  seek  no 
further. 

When  the  conservatives  see  the  trouble  in  the  reform 
camp,  they  have  a  new  lease  of  strength.  Their 
despair  is  again  turned  to  hope.  A  little  longer,  and 
the  world  will  turn  back  to  the  point  at  which  it  stood 
in  the  good  old  days.  But  as  a  rule  they  are  out  in 
their  reckoning.  For  the  most  part  such  movements 
as  these,  progressive  or  retrogressive,  do  not  move 
society  either  forwards  or  backwards.  They  simply 
show  that  society  needs  some  third  system,  inter- 
mediate between  the  other  two,  which  shall  stand  in 
between  the  new  and  the  old,  uprooting  from  the  new 
that  which  needs  uprooting,  and  restoring  to  the  old 
that  which  has  been  uprooted  in  ignorance.  Thus  the 
old  and  the  new  will  be  clothed  in  a  single  new  form, 
suited  to  the  spirit  of  the  age,  which  will  set  up  an 
equilibrium  between  the  spiritual  inheritance  from  the 
past,  and  those  elements  of  the  new  teaching  which 
have  already  fastened  their  roots  firmly  in  the  life  of 
the  community.  A  system  such  as  this  comes  forward 
of  itself  in  course  of  time,  as  a  result  of  the  move- 


64  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

ments  that  we  have  described.  But  sometimes  it  comes 
sooner,  sometimes  later :  this  depends  on  a  number  of 
complex  causes  and  a  variety  of  circumstances. 

A  combined  movement  of  this  sort  began  in  Jewish 
history  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  is  still  pursuing  its 
course.  Judging  by  its  progress  in  recent  years,  we 
may  conclude  that  it  is  no  longer  far  from  the  right 
path. 

Even  before  the  modern  Haskalah  ^  movement,  there 
were  among  Western  Jews  certain  "  moderates  of  the 
party  of  negation  " ;  but  they  did  not  declare  war  on 
the  existing  order  of  things,  because  they  had  noth- 
ing wherewith  to  fill  the  gap.  At  last  a  new  positive 
creed  developed  in  a  few  minds :  the  need  for  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  coupled  with  the  belief  in  their 
attainment  through  European  culture.  At  once  the 
forces  of  negation  attached  themselves  to  the  new 
positive  cause  (whose  adherents,  be  it  remarked,  may 
really  have  been  at  first  "  seekers  after  goodness  and 
wisdom,"  -  and  did  not  know  that  subsequently  nega- 
tion would  fasten  on  to  their  creed  and  count  its  years 
from  the  time  of  Mendelssohn's  German  translation  of 

^ [The  Hebrew  word  Haskalah,  translated  "enlightenment" 
for  want  of  a  more  adequate  equivalent,  is  used  to  denote 
modem  European  culture,  as  distinguished  from  the  purely 
Hebraic  studies  to  which  the  Jewish  mind  was  confined  during 
some  centuries  of  Ghetto  life.  It  includes  not  only  the  pursuit  of 
"general"  (/.  e.  non-Jewish)  subjects  of  knowledge,  but  also 
the  application  of  modern  methods  of  research  to  Hebrew  litera- 
ture and  Jewish  history.] 

'["The  Society  of  Seekers  after  Goodness  and  Wisdom" 
was  the  name  that  Mendelssohn's  disciples  gave  to  themselves.] 


POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE  65 

the  Bible).  The  two  parties  became  one,  and  proceeded 
mercilessly,  exultantly,  amid  triumphant  blowing  of 
trumpets,  to  overthrow  all  the  strongholds  of  their 
nation.  But  when  the  victory  was  won,  or  seemed  to 
be  won,  the  new  doctrine  was  subjected  to  the  scrutiny 
of  criticism,  which  discovered  shortcomings  in  its 
positive  element,  and  still  greater  shortcomings  on  its 
negative  side.  The  process  of  overthrowing  had  gone 
too  far.  It  had  not  stopped  short  at  primitive  beliefs 
and  outworn  customs,  but  had  affected  the  very  essen- 
tials of  national  life  and  national  unity.  So  the  critics 
"became  conscious  of  a  gap,  and  cast  about  for  means 
to  fill  it.  And  not  in  vain,  as  they  believed.  Some  of 
them  thought  to  fill  the  gap  by  building  magnificent, 
synagogues  and  preaching  sermons  full  of  "  water, 
water  everywhere  " ;  others  again — and  these  were  the 
bigger  men — by  that  new  creation  of  theirs,  to  which 
they  gave  a  high-sounding  title,  commensurate  with  the 
loftiness  of  its  mission :  to  wit,  Jewish  Science.^ 

The  literature  of  Jewish  Science  sometimes  presents 
a  strange  phenomenon.  One  finds  a  preface  full  of 
reverent  devotion  to  Israel,  to  Jewish  nationality,  and 
Jewish  literature ;  while  the  body  of  the  book — the 
"  science  "  in  whose  honor  the  preface  was  written — 
consists  of  minute  investigations  and  discussions  of 

^  ["Jewish  Science  "  is  a  mistranslation  of  the  German  term 
Judische  Wissenschaff,  which  has  unfortunately  obtained  cur- 
rency. The  term  denotes  th^  application  of  modem,  so-called 
"scientific"  methods  of  investigation  and  research  to  Jewish 
history  and  the  problems  of  Judaism.] 


66  POSITIVE  AND  NEGATIVE 

commentators  and  punctuators  and  lifeless  liturgical 
compositions,  without  which  the  world  would  have 
been  no  whit  the  poorer.  This  is  a  striking  proof  of 
the  need  that  these  writers  feel  for  some  positive 
national  conception,  to  justify  their  love  for  their 
people  to  themselves,  and  so  enable  them  to  devote 
themselves  to  the  service  of  the  national  spirit.  But 
alas!  their  quest  is  vain;  they  must  needs  be  content 
with  tombstones  and  synagogue  chants.  Others,  too, 
have  sought  in  vain,  and  have  retraced  their  steps  to 
the  camp  of  conservatism.  Others,  again,  are  left  un- 
satisfied, or  else  depart,  never  to  return. 

In  later  years  a  movement  of  an  almost  identical 
character  was  set  on  foot  among  the  Jews  of  North- 
ern Europe.  But  in  Russia  circumstances  have 
brought  about,  as  though  automatically,  that  "  middle 
system  "  for  which  the  savants  of  Germany  sought  in 
vain — a  system  capable  of  restoring  equilibrium  be- 
tween the  old  and  the  new,  by  clothing  both  in  a 
single  new  form.  We  stand  and  gaze  at  this  "  form," 
so  simple,  so  natural,  so  easily  intelligible  to  the  plain- 
est mind,  and  we  wonder  that  it  was  so  long  in  coming. 

Is  it  necessary  to  name  this  movement?  Or  is  it 
enough  to  point  eastwards,  to  the  land  of  our  an- 
cestors ? 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 
(1891) 

Students  of  jurisprudence  know  (and  who  knows 
so  well  as  the  Jew?)  that  the  laws  and  statutes  of 
every  nation  are  not  all  observed  and  obeyed  at  all 
times  in  the  same  degree ;  that  in  all  countries  and  in 
all  ages  there  are  certain  laws,  be  they  new  or  old, 
which  are  perfectly  valid  according  to  the  statute 
book,  and  are  yet  disregarded  by  those  who  administer 
justice,  and  are  wholly  or  largely  ineffective  in  practice. 

If  one  examines  a  law  of  this  kind,  one  will  always 
find  that  its  spirit  is  opposed  to  the  spirit  that  pre- 
vails at  the  time  in  the  moral  and  political  life  of 
society.  If  it  is  a  new  law,  it  will  be  found  to  have 
come  into  existence  before  its  time,  to  have  been  the 
work  of  lawgivers  whose  spiritual  development  was 
in  advance  of  that  of  the  general  body  of  society.  If 
it  is  an  old  law,  we  shall  find  that  its  day  is  past,  that 
society  in  its  spiritual  development  has  left  behind  it 
the  spirit  of  those  old  lawgivers.  In  either  case,  this 
particular  law,  being  out  of  harmony  with  the  spirit 
that  governs  the  progress  of  life  in  that  particular 
age,  may  be  valued  and  honored  like  all  the  other 
laws,  but  has  no  power  to  make  itself  felt  in  practice. 

And  yet  reformers  act  quite  rightly  when  they 
anticipate  the  course  of  events,  and  put  laws  on  the 


68  ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 

Statute  book  before  the  time  has  come  when  they 
can  be  practically  effective;  and  conservatives  also  act 
rightly  when  they  secure  the  survival  in  the  statute 
book  of  laws  whose  time  has  gone  by.  Both  parties 
know  that  they  are  doing  good  service,  each  for  its 
own  cause.  They  both  understand  that  the  spirit  of 
society  moves  in  a  circle,  now  forwards,  now  back- 
wards, and  that  in  this  circular  movement  it  may 
arrive,  sooner  or  later,  at  the  stage  of  development 
that  these  laws  represent.  When  that  time  comes,  it 
will  be  a  matter  of  importance  whether  the  laws  are 
there  in  readiness  or  not.  If  they  are,  the  spirit  of 
society  will  quickly  enter  into  them,  as  a  soul  enters 
into  a  body,  and  will  inform  them  with  life,  and 
make  them  active  forces,  while  they  will  be  for  the 
spirit  a  definite,  material  form,  through  which  its  pre- 
eminence will  be  secured.  But  if  there  is  not  this 
material  form  waiting  for  the  spirit  to  enter  into  it ; 
if  the  spirit  is  compelled  to  wander  bodiless  until  it 
can  create  for  itself  a  new  corporeal  vesture,  then  there 
is  danger  that,  before  the  spirit  can  gain  a  firm  footing 
where  it  desires  to  stay,  the  wheel  may  turn  again, 
and  the  favorable  moment  be  lost. 

This  is  true  not  only  of  written  laws  and  statutes, 
but  also  of  the  unwritten  ideas  and  judgments  of  the 
human  mind.  In  every  age  you  will  find  certain 
isolated  beliefs  and  opinions,  out  of  all  relation  to  the 
ruling  principles  on  which  the  life  of  that  age  is  built. 
They  lie  hidden  in  a  water-tight  compartment  of  the 
mind,  and  have  no  effect  whatever  on  the  course  of 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS  69 

practical  life.  Ideas  such  as  these  are  mostly  survivals, 
inherited  from  earlier  generations.  In  their  own  time 
they  were  founded  on  current  conceptions  and  actual 
needs  of  life;  but  gradually  the  spirit  of  society  has 
changed:  the  foundations  on  which  these  ideas  rested 
have  been  removed,  and  the  ideas  stand  by  a  miracle. 
Their  appearance  of  life  is  illusory:  it  is  no  real  life  of 
motion  and  activity,  but  the  passive  life  of  an  old  man 
whose  "  moisture  is  gone,  and  his  natural  force  abated." 
Anthropologists  (such  as  Tylor  and  many  after  him) 
have  found  aged  creatures  of  this  description  in  every 
branch  of  life;  and  they  live  sometimes  to  a  remark- 
able age. 

So  much  for  the  survivals.  But  there  are  here  also 
anticipations,  children  who  have  not  reached  their 
full  strength — ideas  born  in  the  minds  of  a  few  men 
of  finer  mould,  who  stand  above  their  generation,  and 
whom  favoring  circumstances  have  enabled  to  dis- 
seminate their  ideas,  and  to  win  acceptance  for  them, 
before  their  time:  that  is,  before  the  age  is  fully  able 
to  understand  and  assimilate  them.  These  ideas,  being 
only  learned  parrot-wise,  and  being  out  of  harmony 
with  the  prevailing  spirit,  are  left,  like  the  survivals, 
outside  the  sphere  of  active  forces.  Their  life  is  that 
of  the  babe  and  the  suckling.  Grown  men  fondle  them, 
take  pleasure  in  their  childish  prattle,  sometimes  play 
with  them ;  but  never  ask  their  advice  on  a  practical 
question. 

And  yet,  so  long  as  the  breath  of  life  remains  in 
them,  there  is  hope  both  for  the  anticipations  and  for 


70  ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 

the  survivals:  for  the  one  in  the  forward  march  of 
the  spirit,  for  the  other  in  its  backward  trend.  And 
so  here  also  we  must  say  that  philosophers  have  done 
well  to  work  for  the  dissemination  of  their  new 
opinions,  or  the  strengthening  of  the  old  opinions  to 
which  they  have  been  attached,  without  caring  whether 
the  age  was  fit  to  receive  them,  whether  it  received 
them  for  their  own  sake  or  for  the  sake  of  something 
else,  whether  it  could  find  in  them  a  mode  of  life  and 
a  guide  in  practice.  These  philosophers  know  that  a 
live  weakling  is  better  than  a  dead  Hercules ;  that  so 
long  as  an  idea  lives  in  the  human  mind,  be  it  but  in 
a  strange  and  distorted  form,  be  its  life  but  a  passive 
life  confined  to  some  dim,  narrow  chamber  of  the  mind 
— so  long  it  may  hope  in  the  fulness  of  time  to  find  its 
true  embodiment ;  so  long  it  may  hope,  when  the  right 
day  dawns,  to  fill  the  souls  of  men,  to  become  the  liv- 
ing spirit  that  informs  all  thoughts  and  all  actions. 

For  an  instance  of  an  anticipation,  take  the  idea  of 
the  Unity  of  God  among  the  Jews  in  the  period  of  the 
Judges  and  the  Kings,  until  the  Babylonian  Exile. 

Hume  and  his  followers  have  proved  conclusively 
that  what  first  aroused  man  to  a  recognition  of  his 
Creator  was  not  his  wonder  at  the  beauty  of  nature 
and  her  marvels,  but  his  dread  of  the  untoward  acci- 
dents of  life.  Primitive  man,  wandering  about  the 
earth  in  search  of  food,  without  shelter  from  the  rain 
or  protection  against  the  cold,  persecuted  unsparingly 
by  the  tricks  of  nature  and  by  wild  beasts,  was  not  in 
a  position  to  take  note  of  the  laws  of  creation,  to 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS  yi 

gaze  awe-struck  at  the  beauty  of  the  world,  and  to 
ponder  the  question  "  whether  such  a  world  could  be 
without  a  guide."  ^  All  his  impulses,  feelings,  and 
thoughts  were  concentrated  on  a  single  desire,  the 
desire  for  life ;  in  the  light  of  that  desire  he  saw  but 
two  things  in  all  nature — good  and  evil :  that  which 
helped  and  that  which  hindered  in  his  struggle  for 
existence.  As  for  the  good,  he  strove  to  extract  from 
it  all  possible  benefit,  without  much  preliminary 
thought  about  its  source.  But  evil  was  more  common 
and  more  readily  perceptible  than  good :  and  how 
escape  from  evil?  This  question  gave  his  mind  no 
rest ;  it  was  this  question  that  first  awoke  in  him, 
almost  unconsciously,  the  great  idea  that  every  natural 
phenomenon  has  a  lord,  who  can  be  appeased  by  words 
and  won  over  by  gifts  to  hold  evil  in  check.  Yes, 
and  also — the  idea  developed  of  itself — to  bestow 
good.  Thus  all  the  common  phenomena  of  nature  be- 
came gods,  in  more  or  less  close  contact  with  human 
life  and  happiness ;  the  earth  became  as  full  of  deities 
as  nature  of  good  things  and  evil. 

But  it  was  not  only  from  nature  and  her  blind 
forces  that  primitive  man  had  to  suffer.  The  hand  of 
his  fellow-man  too  was  against  him.  In  those  days 
there  were  no  states  or  kingdoms,  no  fixed  rules  of 
life  or  ordinances  of  justice.  The  human  race  was 
divided  into  families,  each  living  its  own  life,  and  each 
engaged  in  an  endless  war  of  extinction  with  its 
neighbor.    The  evil  caused  by  man  to  man  was  some- 

^  [Midrash,  Lek  Leka,  39.] 


72  ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 

times  even  more  terrible  than  the  hostility  of  nature. 
And  here  also  man  sought  and  found  help  in  a  divine 
power ;  only  in  this  case  he  did  not  turn  to  the  gods 
of  nature,  who  were  common  to  himself  and  his 
enemies.  Each  family  looked  for  help  to  its  own 
special  god,  a  god  who  had  no  care  in  the  world  but 
itself,  no  purpose  but  to  protect  it  from  its  enemies. 
Thus,  when  in  course  of  time  these  families  grew  into 
nations  living  a  settled  life,  and  the  war  of  man  against 
man  took  on  a  more  general  form  ;  when  the  individual 
man  was  able  to  sit  at  peace  with  his  household  in 
the  midst  of  his  people,  and  the  process  of  merciless 
destruction  was  carried  on  by  nation  against  nation, 
not  by  family  against  family:  then  the  family  gods 
disappeared,  or  sank  to  the  level  of  household  spirits; 
but  their  place  was  filled  by  national  gods,  one  god 
for  each  nation,  whose  function  it  was  to  watch  over 
it  in  time  of  peace,  and  to  punish  its  enemies  in  time 
of  war. 

This  double  polytheism,  natural  and  national,  has 
its  source,  therefore,  not  in  an  accidental  error  of 
judgment,  but  in  the  real  needs  of  the  human  soul 
and  the  conditions  of  human  life  in  primitive  ages. 
Since  these  needs  and  these  conditions  did  not  differ 
materially  in  different  countries,  it  is  no  matter  for 
wonder  that  among  all  ancient  peoples  we  find  the 
same  faith  (though  names  and  external  forms  vary)  : 
a  faith  in  nature-gods,  who  help  man  in  his  war  with 
nature,  and  in  national  gods,  who  help  the  nation  in 
its  war  with  other  nations.     But  in  some  cases  the 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS  73 

belief  in  the  nature-gods  is  more  prominent,  in  others 
the  beHef  in  the  national  gods;  this  is  determined  by 
the  character  and  history  of  the  particular  nation,  by 
its  relation  to  nature  and  its  status  among  other 
peoples. 

Hence,  when  the  abstract  idea  of  the  Unity  of  God 
arose  and  spread  among  the  Israelites  in  early  days, 
it  could  not  possibly  be  anything  but  an  anticipation. 
Only  a  select  few  had  a  true  and  living  comprehension 
of  the  idea,  compelling  the  heart  to  feel  and  the  will 
to  follow.  The  masses,  although  they  heard  the  idea 
preached  times  without  number  by  their  Prophets,  and 
thought  that  they  believed  in  it,  had  only  an  external 
knowledge  of  it ;  and  their  belief  was  an  isolated 
belief,  not  linked  with  actual  life,  and  without  in- 
fluence in  practice.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  Prophets 
labored  to  breathe  the  spirit  of  life  into  this  belief. 
It  was  so  far  removed  from  the  contemporary  current 
of  ideas  and  feelings,  that  it  could  not  possibly  root 
itself  firmly  in  the  heart,  or  find  a  spiritual  thread  by 
which  to  link  itself  with  actual  life. 

The  author  of  the  Book  of  Judges  has  a  way  of 
complaining  of  the  fickleness  of  our  ancestors  in  those 
days.  In  time  of  trouble  they  always  turned  to  the 
God  of  their  forefathers ;  but  when  he  had  saved 
them  from  their  enemies,  they  regularly  returned  to 
the  service  of  other  gods,  "  and  remembered  not  the 
Lord  their  God  who  had  delivered  them  from  all  their 
enemies  round  about."  But,  in  fact,  our  ancestors 
were  not  so  fickle  as  to  change  their  faith  like  a  coat, 


74  ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 

and  alternate  between  two  opposed  religions.  They 
had  always  one  faith — the  early  double  polytheism. 
Hence,  in  time  of  national  trouble,  of  war  and  perse- 
cution at  the  hands  of  other  nations,  "  the  children 
of  Israel  cried  unto  the  Lord  their  God."  It  was  not 
that  they  repented,  in  the  Prophetic  sense,  and  re- 
solved to  live  henceforth  as  believers  in  absolute 
Unity.  They  turned  to  the  God  of  their  ancestors,  to 
their  own  special  national  God,  and  prayed  Him  to 
fight  their  enemies.  When  the  external  danger  was 
over,  and  the  national  trouble  gave  way  to  the  indi- 
vidual troubles  of  each  man  and  each  household,  they 
returned  to  the  everyday  gods  of  nature. 

It  was  only  after  the  destruction  of  the  Temple, 
when  the  spirit  of  the  exiled  people  had  changed 
sufficiently  to  admit  of  a  belief  in  the  Unity,  that  the 
Prophets  of  the  time  found  it  easy  to  uproot  the  popu- 
lar faith,  and  to  make  the  idea  of  the  Unity  supreme 
throughout  the  whole  range  of  the  people's  life.  It 
was  not  that  the  people  suddenly  looked  upwards  and 
was  struck  with  the  force  of  the  "  argument  from 
design  ;  "  but  the  national  disaster  had  strengthened  the 
national  feeling,  and  raised  it  to  such  a  pitch  that 
individual  sorrows  vanished  before  the  national 
trouble.  The  people,  with  all  its  thoughts  and  feelings 
concentrated  on  this  one  sorrow,  was  compelled  to 
hold  fast  to  its  one  remaining  hope :  its  faith  in  its 
national  God  and  in  the  greatness  of  His  power  to 
save  His  people,  not  merely  in  its  own  country  but 
also  on  foreign  soil.    But  this  hope  could  subsist  only 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS  7S 

on  condition  that  the  victory  of  the  Babylonian  king 
was  not  regarded  as  the  victory  of  the  Babylonian 
gods.  Not  they,  but  the  God  of  Israel,  who  was  also 
the  God  of  the  world,  had  given  all  countries  over  to 
the  king  of  Babylon;  and  He  who  had  given  would 
take  away.  For  all  the  earth  was  His :  "  He  created 
it,  and  gave  it  to  whoso  seemed  right  in  His  eyes."  ^ 
Thus  at  length  the  people  understood  and  felt  the 
sublime  teaching,  which  hitherto  it  had  known  from 
afar,  with  mere  lip-knowledge.  The  seed  which  the 
earlier  Prophets  had  sown  on  the  barren  rock  burst 
into  fruit  now  that  its  time  had  come.  When  the 
Prophet  of  the  Exile  cried  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
"  To  whom  will  ye  liken  Me  and  make  Me  equal  ?  .  .  . 
I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else,"  his  words  were 
in  accord  with  the  wishes  of  the  people  and  its  national 
hope ;  and  so  they  sank  into  the  heart  of  the  people, 
and  wiped  out  every  trace  of  the  earlier  outlook  and 
manner  of  life. 

This  national  hope,  as  embodied  in  the  idea  of  the 
return  to  Palestine,  affords,  in  a  much  later  age,  an 
instance  of  a  "  survival." 

It  is  a  phenomenon  of  constant  occurrence,  that  an 
object  pursued  first  as  a  means  comes  afterwards  to 
be  pursued  as  an  end.  Originally  it  is  sought  after 
not  for  its  own  sake,  but  because  of  its  connection 
with  some  other  object  of  desire;  but  in  course  of 
time  the  habit  of  pursuing  and  esteeming  the  first 
object,  though  only  for  the  sake  of  the  second,  creates 

^[Rashi  on  Gen.  i.  i.  ] 


•jf,  ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 

a  feeling  of  affection  for  the  first,  which  is  quite  inde- 
pendent of  any  ulterior  aim ;  and  this  affection  some- 
times becomes  so  strong  that  the  ulterior  aim,  which 
was  its  original  justification,  is  sacrificed  for  its  sake. 
Thus  it  is  with  the  miser.  He  begins  by  loving  money 
for  the  enjoyment  that  its  use  affords ;  he  ends  by 
forgetting  his  original  object,  and  develops  an  insatia- 
ble thirst  for  money  as  such,  which  will  not  allow  him 
even  to  make  use  of  it  for  purposes  of  enjoyment. 

Similarly,  the  great  religious  idea,  which,  at  the 
time  of  its  revival,  after  the  destruction  of  the  first 
Temple,  was  meant  to  be  only  a  foundation  and  sup- 
port for  the  national  hope,  grew  and  developed  in  the 
period  of  the  second  Temple,  until  it  became  the  whole 
content  of  the  nation's  spiritual  life,  and  rose  superior 
even  to  that  national  ideal  from  which  it  drew  its  be- 
ing. Religion  occupied  the  first  place,  and  everything 
else  became  secondary;  the  Jews  demanded  scarcely 
anything  except  to  be  allowed  to  serve  God  in  peace 
and  quiet.  When  this  was  conceded,  they  were  con- 
tent to  bear  a  foreign  yoke  silently  and  patiently; 
when  it  was  not,  they  fought  with  the  strength  of  lions, 
and  knew  no  rest  until  they  were  again  free  to  devote 
themselves  uninterruptedly  to  the  service  of  their 
Heavenly  Father,  whom  they  loved  now  not  for  the 
sake  of  any  national  reward,  but  with  a  whole-hearted 
affection,  beside  which  life  itself  was  of  no  account. 

Thus  it  came  about  that,  after  the  destruction  of  the 
second  Temple,  what  the  Jews  felt  most  keenly  was 
not  the  ruin  of  their  country  and  their  national  life, 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS  77 

but  "  the  destruction  of  the  House  [of  God]  :  "  the 
loss  of  their  rehgious  centre,  of  the  power  to  serve 
God  in  His  holy  sanctuary,  and  to  offer  sacrifices  at 
their  appointed  times.  Their  loss  was  spiritual,  and 
the  gap  was  to  be  filled  by  spiritual  means.  Prayers 
stood  for  sacrifices,  the  Synagogue  for  the  Temple, 
the  heavenly  Jerusalem  for  the  earthly,  study  of  the 
Law  for  everything.  Thus  armed,  the  Jewish  people 
set  out  on  its  long  and  arduous  journey,  on  its  wan- 
derings "  from  nation  to  nation."  It  was  a  long  exile 
of  much  study  and  much  prayer,  in  which  the  national 
hope  for  the  return  to  Zion  was  never  forgotten.  But 
this  hope  was  not  now,  as  in  the  days  of  the  Babylon- 
ian exile,  a  hope  that  materialized  in  action,  and  pro- 
duced a  Zerubbabel,  an  Ezra,  a  Nehemiah;  it  was 
merely  a  source  of  spiritual  consolation,  enervating 
its  possessor,  and  lulling  him  into  a  sleep  of  sweet 
dreams.  For  now  that  the  religious  ideal  had  con- 
quered the  national,  the  nation  could  no  longer  be 
satisfied  with  little,  or  be  content  to  see  in  the  return 
to  Zion  merely  its  own  national  salvation.  "  The  land 
of  Israel  "  must  be  "  spread  over  all  the  lands,"  in 
order  "  to  set  the  world  right  by  the  kingdom  of  the 
Eternal,"  in  order  that  "  all  that  have  breath  in  their 
nostrils  might  say,  The  Lord  God  of  Israel  is  King." 
And  so,  hoping  for  more  than  it  could  possibly  achieve, 
the  nation  ceased  gradually  to  do  even  what  it  could 
achieve ;  and  the  idea  of  the  return  to  Zion,  wrapped 
in  a  cloud  of  phantasies  and  visions,  withdrew  from 
the  world  of  action,  and  could  no  longer  be  a  direct 


78  ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS 

Stimulus  to  practical  effort.  Yet,  even  so,  it  never 
ceased  to  live  and  to  exert  a  spiritual  influence;  and 
hence  it  had  sometimes  an  effect  even  on  practical  life, 
although  insensibly  and  indirectly.  At  first  our  ances- 
tors asked  in  all  sincerity  and  simplicity,  "  May  not 
the  Messiah  come  to-day  or  to-morrow  ?  "  and  ordered 
their  lives  accordingly.  Afterwards  their  courage 
drooped ;  their  belief  in  imminent  salvation  became 
weaker  and  weaker,  and  no  longer  dictated  their  every- 
day conduct ;  but  even  then  it  could  occasionally  be 
blown  into  flame  by  some  visionary,  and  become  em- 
bodied in  a  material  form,  as  witness  the  so-called 
"  Messianic  "  movements,  in  which  the  nation  strove 
to  attain  its  hope  by  practical  methods,  which  were  as 
spiritual  and  religious  as  the  hope  itself.  But  from 
the  day  when  the  last  "Messiah"  (Sabbatai  Zebi) 
came  to  a  bad  end,  and  the  spread  of  education  made 
it  impossible  for  any  dreamer  to  capture  thousands  of 
followers,  the  bond  between  life  and  the  national  hope 
was  broken;  the  hope  ceased  to  exert  even  a  spiritual 
influence  on  the  people,  to  be  even  a  source  of  com- 
fort in  time  of  trouble,  and  became  an  aged,  doddering 
creature — a  survival. 

It  had  almost  become  unthinkable  that  this  outworn 
hope  could  renew  its  youth,  and  become  again  the 
mainspring  of  a  new  movement,  least  of  all  of  a 
rational  and  spontaneous  movement.  And  yet  that 
is  what  has  happened.  The  revolutions  of  life's  wheel 
have  carried  the  spirit  of  our  people  from  point  to 
point  on  the  circle,  until  now  it  begins  to  approach 


ANTICIPATIONS  AND  SURVIVALS  79 

once  more  the  healthy  and  natural  condition  of  two 
thousand  years  ago.  This  ancient  spirit,  roused  once 
more  to  life,  has  breathed  life  into  the  ancient  ideal, 
has  found  in  that  ideal  its  fitting  external  form,  and 
become  to  it  as  soul  to  body. 

But  it  is  not  for  us,  who  see  "  the  love  of  Zion  "  in 
its  new  form,  full  of  life  and  youthful  hope,  to  treat 
with  disrespect  the  aged  survival  of  past  generations. 
It  is  not  for  us  to  forget  what  the  new  spirit  owes  to 
this  neglected  and  forgotten  survival,  which  our  ances- 
tors hid  away  in  a  dim,  narrow  chamber  of  their 
hearts,  to  live  its  death-in-life  until  the  present  day. 
For,  but  for  this  survival,  the  new  spirit  would  not 
have  found  straightway  a  suitable  body  with  which  to 
clothe  itself ;  and  then,  perhaps,  it  might  have  gone  as 
it  came,  and  passed  away  without  leaving  any  abiding 
trace  in  history. 


PAST  AND  FUTURE 
(1891) 

Adam  was  unconsciously  a  great  philosopher  when 
he  first  uttered  the  word  "  I."  Think  how  subsequent 
philosophers  have  labored,  how  they  have  created 
"  mountains  "  of  argument  "  hanging  on  a  hair,"  in 
order  to  explain  this  little  word;  and  yet  they  have 
never  arrived  at  a  full  understanding  and  a  clear  defi- 
nition.' What  is  the  "  self  "  ?  This  question  is  asked 
again  and  again  in  every  age,  and  in  every  age  finds 
a  different  answer,  according  to  the  position  of  science 
and  philosophy  at  that  particular  time.  Thus  philoso- 
phers believed  a  generation  ago  that  the  existence  of 
the  "  self "  as  a  complete  and  fundamental  reality 
was  an  obvious  fact,  a  universal  intuition  that  needed 
no  proof ;  whereas  contemporary  philosophy  speaks 
of  the  "  division  of  the  self,"  of  "  a  double  self,"  and 
so  forth. 

But  without  following  the  philosophers  into  the 
deep  waters  of  metaphysics,  we  may  say  in  the  speech 
of  ordinary  men  that  the  "  self  "  of  every  individual 
is  the  result  of  the  combination  of  his  memory  and 
his  will — that  is,  the  union  of  the  past  and  the  future. 
When  a  man  says  "  I,"  he  is  not  thinking  of  his  hair 
and  his  nails,  which  are  here  to-day  and  tossed  on  the 
dust-heap  to-morrow ;  nor  of  his  hands  and  feet,  or 


PAST  AND  FUTURE  8i 

the  ojiher  parts  of  his  anatomy  of  flesh  and  blood, 
which  is  constantly  changing.  He  is  thinking  of  that 
inner  spirit,  or  force,  which  in  some  hidden  manner 
unites  all  the  impressions  and  memories  of  the  past 
with  all  his  desires  and  hopes  for  the  future,  and 
makes  of  the  whole  one  single,  complete,  organic  entity. 
This  spiritual  entity  grows  and  develops  concur- 
rently with  the  physical,  external  man ;  but  its  growth 
is  in  the  reverse  direction — from  the  future  to  the 
past.  "  When  a  man  is  young," — so  the  ancient  sages 
said  of  King  Solomon — "  he  writes  songs ;  grown  up, 
he  speaks  in  proverbs ;  in  old  age  he  preaches  pessi- 
mism." So  in  truth  it  is.  The  "  self  "  of  the  young 
man  is  poor  in  memories,  but  rich  in  hopes  and  desires. 
Wholly  intent  on  the  boundless  future,  he  is  inspired 
to  lyric  song  and  to  action.  When  he  reaches  middle 
age,  and  has  grown  rich  in  experiences  and  memories, 
while  he  has  still  strength  to  desire  and  to  work  for  the 
attainment  of  his  desires,  an  equilibrium  is  estab- 
lished between  the  two  parts  of  his  self:  the  future 
arouses  his  will  to  activity,  but  this  activity  is  curbed 
and  guided  by  the  past.  At  this  stage  he  speaks  in 
proverbs — ^that  is,  he  lays  down  general  principles  for 
the  future  on  the  basis  of  the  past.  Finally,  when  he 
grows  old,  and  has  no  more  strength  to  work  for  the 
future,  his  self  is  inevitably  emptied  of  desires  and 
hopes  ;  there  is  nothing  left  for  him  but  to  dive  into  the 
sea  of  the  past,  to  confine  himself  to  the  analysis  of 
those  impressions  and  memories  which  he  has  acquired 
in  his  lifetime :  and  so  at  last,  if  he  is  as  wise  as  Solo- 
6 


82  PAST  AND  FUTURE 

mon,  he  "  preaches  pessimism,"  and  gets  him  comfort. 

But  not  all  old  men  are  as  wise  as  Solomon.  Most, 
men  have  not  the  strength  or  the  aptitude  for  finding 
comfort  in  "  vanity  of  vanities,"  and  so  dying  in 
peace.  Old  age  in  its  distress  calls  Faith  to  its  aid, 
and  Faith  gives  to  the  self  the  future  that  it  lacks: 
a  future  adapted  to  the  character  of  old  age,  a  future 
which  does  not  demand  strength  and  activity,  but 
gives  everything  without  effort.  The  self  takes  hold 
of  this  future,  though  it  has  no  warrant  in  experience, 
and  links  it  firmly  with  the  past,  till  they  become  a 
single  whole.  The  future  will  supply  all  that  was 
lacking  in  the  past ;  the  future  will  be  as  sweet  as  the 
past  was  bitter.  Nay,  more:  jealousy,  as  well  as  the 
desire  for  pleasure,  takes  toll  of  the  future  for  the 
debt  of  the  past ;  and  the  poor  are  not  satisfied  till  they 
have  said  that  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  for  them 
alone. 

The  "  national  self,"  also,  has  been  made  the  sub- 
ject of  subtle  inquiry  and  profound  reasoning.  But 
here,  too,  some  philosophers  (John  Stuart  Mill  and 
Renan)  have  come  to  recognize  that  in  essence  and 
principle  this  idea  is  nothing  but  a  combination  of  past 
and  future — a  combination,  that  is,  of  memories  and 
impressions  with  hopes  and  desires,  all  closely  inter- 
woven, and  common  to  all  the  individual  members  of 
the  nation. 

As  in  the  individual,  so  in  the  nation,  if  we  con- 
sider the  proportion  of  the  two  component  parts  to 
each  other  in  the  complex  self,  we  find  three  stages. 


PAST  AND  FUTURE  83 

A  nation  has  its  childhood,  the  time  of  the  Song  of 
Songs,  in  which  it  looks  more  especially  at  the  future, 
and  its  life  is  a  medley  of  desires  and  hopes,  expressed 
in  speech  and  in  action,  without  limit,  system,  or 
measure.  It  has  no  experience,  no  reasoned  memories 
of  the  past,  to  serve  as  canon  or  criterion ;  on  the  con- 
trary, even  the  little  that  it  does  inherit  from  the  past 
is  affected  by  its  aspirations,  and  becomes  poetry.  But 
gradually  the  nation  is  taught  by  events  to  look  back- 
wards with  a  clearer  vision,  to  understand  itself,  its 
character,  and  the  conditions  of  its  existence  in  the  light 
of  its  past  experience.  Thus  it  becomes  a  wise  and  en- 
lightened nation,  knowing  "  whence  it  hath  come  and 
whither  it  goeth  " ;  past  and  future  are  united  in  the 
self  in  the  true  proportion,  and  in  a  way  calculated 
to  further  its  happiness  and  development.  Such  good 
times  as  these  endure  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  period, 
at  the  end  of  which  the  nation  enters,  sometimes  pre- 
maturely, on  its  old  age.  Then,  seeing  that  its  strength 
is  dwindling,  and  it  can  no  longer  work  for  the  objects 
of  its  desire,  it  ceases  even  to  desire,  and  confines  itself 
to  memories  of  the  past.  This  period  of  degeneracy 
(as  in  the  case  of  the  Greeks)  is  the  golden  age  of 
the  antiquarian,  of  the  manuscript  collector  and  the 
bibliophile,  of  the  critic  and  the  commentator  and  the 
supercommentator.  At  last  the  members  of  the  nation 
gradually  attain  to  the  wisdom  of  Solomon:  they  say 
"  vanity  of  vanities,"  and  disappear  one  by  one. 

But  in  this  case  also  it  sometimes  happens  that,  in 
spite  of  all  the  external  symptoms  of  old  age  and 


84  PAST  AND  FUTURE 

weakness,  the  feeling  of  self  is  still  strong  in  the  heart 
of  the  nation,  which  neither  will  nor  can  accept  the 
verdict  of  history,  and  be  content  to  have  its  last 
moments  sweetened  by  pleasant  memories.  It  demands 
a  future;  it  desires  life,  come  what  may.  Then,  in 
this  case  also,  Faith  comes  on  the  wings  of  Fancy,  and 
gives  the  nation  what  it  seeks  without  trouble  or  effort, 
and  in  liberal  measure,  proportioned  to  the  bitterness 
of  the  past.  "  According  to  the  sorrow  shall  be  the 
reward."  ^  But  at  this  stage  there  is  an  important  dif- 
ference between  the  individual  and  the  nation.  The 
individual  dies:  die  he  must:  all  his  hopes  for  the 
future  cannot  save  him  from  death.  But  the  nation 
has  a  spiritual  thread  of  life,  and  physical  laws  do 
not  set  a  limit  to  its  years  or  its  strength.  And  so, 
let  it  but  make  the  future  an  integral  part  of  its  self, 
though  it  be  only  in  the  form  of  a  fanciful  hope,  it  has 
found  the  spring  of  life,  the  proper  spiritual  food 
which  will  preserve  and  sustain  it  for  many  a  long 
year,  despite  all  its  ailments  and  diseases.  And,  since 
it  lives,  it  is  always  possible  that  in  course  of  time 
circumstances  will  enable  it  to  live  and  regain  strength 
among  healthy  and  powerful  nations,  and  derive  sus- 
tenance from  its  intercourse  with  them :  until  at  last, 
with  the  healthy  blood  of  youth  in  its  veins,  the  nation, 
conscious  of  its  new  strength,  will  become  conscious 
also  of  new  desires,  impelling  it  to  work  actively, 
with  body  and  spirit,  for  the  future. 

The  historical  books  of  the  Bible  were  written  or 

*  [Pirke  Abot,  v.  26.] 


PAST  AND  FUTURE  8$ 

arranged,  as  is  well  known,  in  the  period  of  the 
Babylonian  exile.  Israel  was  old  at  that  time,  and  the 
decay  of  its  powers  had  gone  so  far  that  all  the 
people  were  conscious  of  it,  and  cried  in  bitterness 
of  soul,  "  Our  bones  are  dried,  and  our  hope  is  lost ;  we 
are  cut  off  for  our  parts,"  So  there  arose  wise  men 
who  tried  to  save  the  national  self  by  strengthening  the 
element  of  the  past.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  they 
could  have  attained  their  object  by  this  means  alone. 
But,  fortunately  for  itself,  the  nation  did  not  look  to 
the  wise  men  for  a  solution  of  the  question  of  its 
existence,  but  to  the  Prophets ;  and  the  Prophets  gave 
the  solution  required.  They  made  the  future  live 
again,  and  so  completed  the  self.  The  future  of 
Prophecy  was  at  first  a  future  close  at  hand:  it  was 
afterwards,  when  the  second  Temple  had  been  built 
and  the  great  promises  were  not  fulfilled,  that  the 
future  was  postponed,  as  a  consequence,  from  gen- 
eration to  generation.  This  postponement  was  carried 
on  and  on,  until  and  after  the  destruction  of  the 
second  Temple.  Sometimes  the  future  loomed  un- 
duly large,  sometimes  it  sank  far  into  the  back- 
ground, according  to  the  conditions  and  the  needs  of 
different  generations ;  but  throughout  the  whole  course 
of  history,  almost  till  our  own  time,  it  never  ceased 
to  be  an  important  and  fundamental  part  of  the 
national  self.  It  was  the  future  that  enabled  our 
ancestors  to  live  on,  despite  their  weakness  and  their 
heavy  burden,  while  other  nations,  with  a  more  bril- 
liant past,  perished  and  disappeared. 


86  PAST  AND  FUTURE 

We  are,  indeed,  in  the  habit  of  thinking  that  Israel 
was  kept  ahve  by  the  Law  alone.  But  our  remote 
ancestors,  who  handed  down  the  Law  to  us,  admitted 
that  the  Law  itself  only  lived  in  our  keeping  for  the 
sake  of  the  future,  and  that,  if  not  for  the  future,  there 
would  have  been  no  real  reason  for  its  preservation. 
"  Though  I  banish  you  from  the  land,  yet  be  ye  observ- 
ant of  my  commandments,  so  that,  when  ye  return, 
they  will  not  be  new  to  you."  ^ 

It  was  because  they  regarded  the  Law  in  this  way 
that  they  compiled  whole  treatises  on  the  minutiae 
of  the  laws  of  sacrifices  and  offerings,  of  the  garments 
and  service  of  the  priests,  and  so  forth.  They  had  no 
love  of  antiquarian  research ;  but  they  firmly  believed 
that  all  these  matters  would  again  become  living  ques- 
tions :  and,  as  they  could  not  observe  these  command- 
ments in  practice,  they  endeavored  at  least  to  know 
them  perfectly,  "  in  order  that  when  they  returned, 
they  should  not  be  new  to  them."  These  treatises,  on 
which  the  youth  of  Israel  was  subsequently  trained 
generation  after  generation,  did  a  great  deal  to  implant 
the  hope  for  a  future  in  the  nation's  heart.  Those 
who  studied  them  grew  accustomed  to  regard  the 
future  for  which  they  hoped  as  a  tangible  thing. 
They  must  be  prepared  for  it,  and  must  spend  their 
time  in  discussing  questions  connected  with  it.  Thus 
the  "  commandments  depending  on  the  Land  "  helped 
to  preserve  the  race  perhaps  more  than  those  which 
applied  in  exile  also. 

^Sifre,  'Ekeb. 


PAST  AND  FUTURE  87 

Even  in  the  twelfth  century  c.  e.,  more  than  a 
thousand  years  after  the  destruction  of  the  Temple, 
the  greatest  sage  of  the  exile  ^  spared  himself  no  labor 
in  collecting  and  arranging  the  *'  laws  for  the  time  of 
the  Messiah."  ^  The  author  of  the  "  Letter  to  the  Jews 
of  Yemen  "  was  fully  aware  of  the  importance  of  the 
future  for  the  preservation  of  the  people  ;  and  therefore 
he  gave  it  a  place  among  the  principles  of  the  Jewish 
religion.  His  acutely  logical  mind  did  not  fail  to  see  the 
objections  that  were  brought  against  this  proceeding 
after  his  death  by  the  pupils  of  his  pupils  (like  the 
author  of  the  PrinciplesY ;  but  he  understood  what 
they  failed  to  understand — that  a  people  cannot  live 
on  logic,  that  without  a  hope  for  the  future  even 
the  Law,  with  all  its  logical  principles,  would  sink 
into  oblivion,  and  that  all  the  signs  of  history  and  all 
the  proofs  of  scholasticism  would  not  avail  to  save  the 
Law — and  its  people — from  death. 

In  Babylon,  then,  when  the  nation  was  beginning, 
under  the  stress  of  a  sudden  disaster,  to  despair  of 
the  future,  the  wise  men  saved  what  they  could  of  the 
national  Ego,  and  the  Prophets  completed  their  work, 
and  saved  the  whole.  But  in  more  recent  days  we 
observe  a  different  phenomenon,  which  is  without  a 
parallel  since  the  dispersion.     The  nation  does  not 

^  [Maimonides,  who  formulated  thirteen  articles  of  the  Jewish 
faith,  and  included  belief  in  the  Messiah.  Some  of  his  fol- 
lowers opposed  him  on  this  point.] 

'  [That  is,  laws  which  cannot  be  observed  until  the  Messiah 
comes.] 

'  [Rabbi  Joseph  Albc] 


88  PAST  AND  FUTURE 

despair  of  the  future:  on  the  contrary,  the  future  is 
ever  on  its  hps,  as  of  old:  but  in  its  heart  it  has  for- 
gotten the  future,  first  through  overwhelming  troubles, 
afterwards  through  excess  of  prosperity.  And  in  this 
latter  time,  when  the  condition  of  the  people  has  vastly 
improved,  and  it  has  been  able  to  regain  strength  among 
strong  and  healthy  nations ;  when  its  newborn  strength 
might  have  enabled  it  to  work  actively  for  the  future, 
and  nothing  was  needed  but  to  awake  the  dormant 
hope:  just  at  this  auspicious  time  the  wise  men  have 
set  about  to  uproot  the  sleeping  hope  and  banish  its 
very  name  even  from  the  lips  of  the  people.  Nirvana  is 
the  new  ideal  preached  by  our  latter-day  sages, 
in  place  of  the  national  future.  Even  Nirvana,  how- 
ever, cannot  be  reached  by  a  single  step,  but  only 
through  a  long  series  of  metempsychoses.  What  shall 
the  people  do  meantime?  For  answer,  we  find  that 
just  in  proportion  as  the  Future  sinks  into  insignifi- 
cance as  an  element  in  the  national  Ego,  so,  under  the 
influence  of  these  same  sages,  at  the  same  time  and  in 
the  same  place,  the  Past  grows  in  importance.  Be- 
tween the  new  Prayer  Book  without  a  reference  to 
the  Future,  and  the  new  literature  dealing  with  the 
history  of  the  Past,  there  is  an  internal,  psychological 
bond  of  relation,  the  strength  of  which  is  not  fully 
recognized  by  the  Reformers  themselves.  The  aged 
people,  whose  hope  they  have  killed,  asks  for  consola- 
tion and  recompense  for  the  loss.  They  point  to  the 
past,  and  tell  the  people  that  it  must  find  there  its 
pleasure  and  delight,  until  at  length  it  will  recognize 


PAST  AND  FUTURE  89 

that  a  Past  without  a  Future  needs  no  individual  Ego 
to  support  it;  that  even  if  that  Past  is  worthy  of  a 
permanent  place  in  human  memory,  it  can  hold  its 
place  independently  of  its  former  guardians ;  and  a 
mere  aristocratic  pride  (as  who  should  say,  "  My 
ancestors  saved  Rome  ")^  does  not  make  it  worth  while 
to  live  and  to  suffer. 

Those  who  desire  the  completion  of  the  national 
Ego  will  not  agree  with  these  apostles  of  the  past  as 
to  their  aim ;  but  they  will  approve  their  methods  and 
find  them  useful.  By  all  means  let  the  sages  strengthen 
the  Past  at  the  expense  of  the  Future.  The  "  Prophets  " 
will  follow,  and  will  build  a  strong  Future  on  the 
foundations  of  the  Past.  From  this  combination  the 
national  Ego  will  derive  fulness  and  strength. 

Far  more  dangerous,  therefore,  is  that  other  section, 
which  seeks  salvation  in  a  Future  not  connected  with 
our  Past,  and  believes  that  after  a  history  extending 
over  thousands  of  years  a  people  can  begin  all  over 
again,  like  a  newborn  child,  and  create  for  itself  a 
new  national  land,  a  new  national  life  and  aims.  This 
section  forgets  that  it  is  the  nation — that  is,  the  national 
Ego  in  the  form  given  to  it  by  history — that  desires 
to  live :  not  some  other  nation,  but  just  this  one,  with 
all  its  essentials,  and  all  its  memories,  and  all  its 
hopes.  If  this  nation  could  have  become  another,  it 
would  long  since  have  found  many  ways  to  its  salva- 
tion.    There  is,  indeed,  another  Ego,  the  particular 

'  [i.  e.,  the  geese  on  the  Capitol,  which  saved  Rome  from  the 
Cauls]. 


90  PAST  AND  FUTURE 

temporary  Ego  of  each  individual  Jew.  The  individual 
whose  existence  is  endangered  is  certainly  at  liberty 
to  seek  an  escape  by  any  means,  and  to  find  a  refuge 
in  any  place ;  and  whoever  saves  a  large  number  of 
such  individuals,  by  whatever  means  and  in  whatever 
place,  confers  a  temporary  benefit  on  the  whole  people, 
of  which  these  individuals  are  parts.  But  the  national 
Ego,  the  eternal  Ego  of  the  Jewish  people,  is  another 
matter;  and  they  err  who  think  it  possible  to  lead 
this  also  along  the  path  of  their  own  choice.  The  path 
of  the  national  Ego  is  already  marked  and  laid  out  by 
its  essential  character,  and  that  character  has  its 
foundation  in  the  Past,  and  its  completion  in  the 
Future.^ 

'  [This  essay  was  written  in  the  early  days  of  the  Argentine 
colonies,  when  Baron  Hirsch  and  many  others  still  dreamt  of 
saving  the  Jewish  people  by  means  of  such  colonies.] 


TWO  MASTERS 
(1892) 

Familiar  as  we  now  are  with  the  phenomena  of 
hypnotism,  we  know  that  under  certain  conditions  it  is 
possible  to  induce  a  peculiar  kind  of  sleep  in  a  human 
being,  and  that,  if  the  hypnotic  subject  is  commanded 
to  perform  at  a  certain  time  after  his  awakening 
some  action  foreign  to  his  character  and  his  wishes,  he 
will  obey  the  order  at  the  appointed  time.  He  will 
not  know,  however,  that  he  is  compelled  to  do  so  by 
the  will  and  behest  of  another.  He  will  firmly  believe 
(according  to  the  evidence  of  expert  investigators) 
that  he  is  doing  what  he  does  of  his  own  freewill  and 
because  he  likes  to  do  so,  for  various  reasons  which 
his  imagination  will  create,  in  order  to  satisfy  his 
own  mind. 

The  phenomenon  in  this  form  excites  surprise,  as 
something  extraordinary ;  but  we  find  a  parallel  in  the 
experience  of  every  man  and  every  age,  though  the 
phenomenon  is  not  ordinarily  thrown  into  such  strong 
relief,  and  therefore  does  not  excite  surprise  or  attract 
attention.  Every  civilized  man  who  is  born  and  bred 
in  an  orderly  state  of  society  lives  all  his  life  in  the 
condition  of  the  hypnotic  subject,  unconsciously  sub- 
servient to  the  will  of  others.  The  social  environ- 
ment produces  the  hypnotic  sleep  in  him  from  his 


92  TWO  MASTERS 


earliest  years.  In  the  form  of  education,  it  imposes  on 
him  a  load  of  various  commands,  which  from  the  outset 
limit  his  movements,  and  give  a  definite  character  to 
his  intelligence,  his  feelings,  his  impulses,  and  his 
desires.  In  later  life  this  activity  of  the  social  environ- 
ment is  ceaselessly  continued  in  various  ways.  Lan- 
guage and  literature,  religion  and  morality,  laws  and 
customs — all  these  and  their  like  are  the  media  through 
which  society  puts  the  individual  to  sleep,  and  con- 
stantly repeats  to  him  its  commandments,  until  he  can 
no  longer  help  rendering  them  obedience. 

Society,  however,  which  thus  influences  the  indi- 
vidual, is  not  a  thing  apart,  external  to  the  individual. 
Its  whole  existence  and  activity  are  in  and  through 
individuals,  who  transmit  its  commands  one  to  another, 
and  influence  one  another,  by  word  and  deed,  in  ways 
determined  by  the  spirit  of  society.  It  may,  therefore, 
be  said  with  justice  that  every  individual  member  of 
society  carries  in  his  own  being  thousands  of  hidden 
hypnotic  agents,  whose  commands  are  stern  and  per- 
emptory. "  Such  and  such  shall  be  your  opinions ; 
such  and  such  your  actions."  The  individual  obeys, 
unconsciously.  His  opinions  and  his  actions  are 
framed  to  order.  At  the  same  time,  he  finds  cogent 
arguments  in  favor  of  his  opinions,  and  sound  reasons 
for  his  actions.  He  is  not  conscious  that  it  is  the  spirit 
of  other  men  that  thinks  in  his  brain  and  actuates  his 
hand,  while  his  own  essential  spirit,  his  inner  Ego,  is 
sometimes  utterly  at  variance  with  the  resulting  ideas 
and  actions,  but  cannot  make  its  voice  heard  because 


TWO  MASTERS  93 


of  the  thousand  tongues  of  the  external  Ego  (what 
a  French  philosopher,  Bergson,  calls  the  "  verbal 
Ego  ")  in  which  society  enfolds  him. 

We  may  go  further.  Society  does  not  create  its 
spiritual  stock-in-trade  and  its  way  of  life  afresh  in 
every  generation.  These  things  come  to  birth  in  the 
earliest  stages  of  society,  being  a  product  of  the  con- 
ditions of  life,  then  proceed  through  a  long  course  of 
development  till  they  attain  a  form  that  suits  that 
particular  society,  and  then,  finally,  are  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation  without  any  funda- 
mental change.  Thus  society  in  any  given  generation 
is  nothing  but  the  instrument  of  the  will  of  earlier  gen- 
erations. The  arch-hypnotizers,  the  all-powerful  mas- 
ters of  the  individual  and  of  society  alike,  are  the 
men  of  the  distant  past.  The  grass  has  grown  on 
their  graves  for  hundreds  of  years,  it  may  be  for  thou- 
sands ;  but  their  voice  is  still  obeyed,  their  command- 
ments are  still  observed,  and  no  man  or  generation 
can  tell  where  lies  the  dividing  line  between  himself 
and  them,  between  his  and  theirs. 

When,  therefore,  we  hear  people  talking  loudly 
about  their  "  inner  consciousness,"  by  which  they  pro- 
nounce judgment  on  truth  and  falsehood,  good  and 
evil,  beauty  and  ugliness,  we  have  a  right  to  remem- 
ber what  we  should  find  if  we  could  analyze  this 
"  consciousness."  We  should  find  that  the  elements 
of  which  it  was  compounded  were  almost  entirely 
the  different  commands  of  different  hypnotic  agents 
in  different  ages,  which,  through  a  complex  chain  of 


94  TWO  MASTERS 


causes,  had  become  united  in  this  particular  body  of 
men,  and  had  found  its  manifestation  in  their  pecuHar 
Ego.  For  example:  when  Mortara,  the  well-known 
priest,  hurls  his  thunders  from  the  pulpit  at  the 
enemies  of  the  Catholic-  faith,  and  strives  out  of  the 
depths  of  his  "  inner  consciousness "  to  prove  the 
righteousness  and  truth  of  that  faith,  we  have  a  right 
to  remember  that  if  the  Catholic  priests  had  not 
snatched  him  in  childhood  from  the  arms  of  his  Jewish 
mother,  and  had  not  brought  him  perforce  under  the 
sway  of  certain  hypnotic  agents,  ancient  and  modern, 
his  "  inner  consciousness "  would  now  have,'  been 
composed  of  far  other  elements,  and  other  hypnotic 
agents,  of  a  very  different  character,  would  now  have 
been  speaking  through  his  lips,  with  precisely  the  same 
warmth  of  conviction. 

In  normal  periods — that  is,  when  society  is  proceed- 
ing in  all  matters  along  the  path  marked  out  by  pre- 
ceding generations — past  and  present  join  forces  in  a 
single  task :  they  repeat  the  tale  of  social  commands  to 
the  individual  in  the  same  language  and  the  same  words. 
At  such  a  time,  therefore,  the  individual  is  able  to 
live  in  peace  and  quiet  in  his  condition  of  hypnotic 
slumber ;  he  can  move  all  his  life  long  in  the  narrow 
circle  described  around  him  by  the  past  and  the  pres- 
ent, and  yet  consider  himself  a  free  man,  knowing 
and  feeling  nothing  of  the  iron  chains  by  which  he  is 
bound. 

But  times  are  not  always  normal.  Occasionally  (it 
does  not  matter  here   from  what  cause)    the   social 


TWO  MASTERS  95 


atmosphere  is  suddenly  disturbed  by  the  breath  of  a 
new  spirit,  which  brings  with  it  new  ideas,  new  desires, 
of  which  earher  generations  had  no  conception.  These 
spiritual  aliens  knock  at  the  door,  and  seek  admission 
into  the  heart  of  society.  The  old  ideas,  already  in 
possession,  come  out  to  meet  the  strangers,  and 
examine  them  critically,  to  see  whether  they  bring 
peace  or  war.  Finding  that  they  possess  no  disquali- 
fication except  their  strangeness,  they  admit  the  new- 
comers, and  allot  them  a  quiet  corner  for  themselves, 
on  condition  that  they  do  not  interfere  with  the  work 
and  the  sovereign  power  of  the  natives.  For  a  time 
the  aliens  observe  this  condition ;  they  keep  to  their 
quiet  corner,  and  take  no  part  in  the  administration. 
But  gradually  they  extend  their  domain,  take  firmer 
root,  and  spread  their  ramifications  abroad :  until  at  last 
they  also  have  power,  they  rule  and  command,  they 
are  now  the  citizens  of  the  present.  And  then  they 
come  out  of  their  obscurity,  and  stand  revealed  in  all 
their  strength.  In  this  their  new  position  they  meet 
once  more  with  the  citizens  of  earlier  days. 

This  meeting  of  the  old  and  the  new  sometimes 
leads  to  unity  and  amity.  This  happens  when  they  are 
useful  to  each  other:  thus  the  doctrine  of  hypnotism 
and  the  belief  in  spiritualism  have  come  to  terms  in 
the  systems  of  certain  thinkers.  But  more  usually  the 
result  is  hatred  and  contention.  There  is  suddenly 
revealed  an  inner  contradiction  between  the  character- 
istics and  the  tendencies  of  the  old  and  of  the  new,  a 
contradiction  unseen  at  the  time  of  their  first  meeting, 


96  TWO  MASTERS 


when  the  new  idea  was  young,  and  its  characteristics 
insufficiently  developed. 

Fortunately  for  mankind,  this  contradiction  is  only^ 
revealed  when  it  has  already  been  adjusted  under 
the  surface:  that  is  to  say,  when  the  present  has  not 
merely  found  a  firm  foothold  for  itself,  but  has  also 
succeeded,  silently  and  unobserved,  in  tunnelling  under 
the  foundations  of  its  enemy,  the  past.  It  is  only  when 
the  old  fortress  is  wholly  overthrown  that  men  open 
their  eyes,  and  notice  what  has  already  been  done  with- 
out their  knowledge.  They  see  a  tottering  ruin  in 
place  of  what  they  thought  a  solid  building;  and, 
though  the  sight  may  grieve  them,  they  are  bound  to 
admit  that  what  is  done  cannot  be  undone.  So  they 
must  needs  find  consolation,  and  the  wound  is  soon 
healed. 

Phenomena  of  this  kind  are  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  history  of  enlightened  nations,  and  it  is  to  such 
phenomena  that  historians  generally  refer  when  they 
speak  of  "  the  spirit  of  the  age,"  which  they  regard 
as  the  justification  and  the  cause  of  various  social 
changes.  This  spirit  is  always  the  result  of  a  number 
of  small  changes,  which  at  first  do  not  seem  to  trench 
on  the  domain  of  the  past,  and  therefore  make  head- 
way easily  enough.  But  when  once  they  have  won 
an  assured  place,  and  become  as  it  were  at  home,  they 
never  turn  back  again,  even  if  their  path  is  beset  with 
hostile  survivals  from  the  past.  Gradually  they  suck 
the  strength  out  of  such  survivals,  and  leave  them  mere 
dry  bones :  and  when  that  is  done  it  needs  but  a  very 


TWO  MASTERS  97 


small  breeze  to  blow  these  antiques  once  for  all  out  of 
existence. 

Such  is  the  course  of  events  where  development 
proceeds  naturally,  without  any  sudden  and  artificial 
stimulus.  But  it  sometimes  happens,  especially  in 
connection  with  questions  of  great  importance,  that 
men  of  wisdom  and  foresight  observe  and  proclaim 
the  contradiction  between  the  old  and  the  new  before 
the  new  has  succeeded  in  secretly  undermining  the 
strength  of  the  old.  These  tale-tellers  are  always 
extremists:  that  is  to  say,  men  whose  life  has  been 
such  that  their  "  inner  consciousness,"  in  relation  to 
the  particular  question  at  issue,  is  composed  only  of 
elements  of  the  old,  or  only  of  elements  of  the  new. 
In  either  case  they  draw  inferences  from  their  own 
state  of  mind  to  that  of  society,  and  see  there  only 
half  the  truth — either  the  power  of  the  old  alone,  or 
that  of  the  new  alone.  And  just  as  they  themselves 
have  found  it  easy  to  expel  the  one  before  the  other, 
so  they  believe  that  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  expel 
the  object  of  their  aversion  (whether  that  is  the  old 
or  the  new)  from  society  by  revealing  the  contradic- 
tion between  it  and  the  other  element. 

Whether  this  movement  is  initiated  by  those  who 
believe  in  the  old  or  by  those  who  believe  in  the  new, 
it  causes  serious  trouble,  because  it  forces  society  to 
seek  an  answer  to  the  question,  Which  is  to  go?  at 
a  time  -when  society  is  still  bound  by  ties  of  affection 
to  each  of  the  opposing  forces,  and  cannot  drive  out 
either  the  one  or  the  other.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
7 


98  TWO  MASTERS 


society  attempts  to  silence,  by  forcible  measures,  one 
of  the  two  voices,  though  each  voice  is  its  own,  and  to 
be  guided  for  a  time  by  one  alone ;  but  the  other  voice 
is  soon  heard  again,  and  society  is  compelled'  to  listen, 
cannot  be  deaf.  Then  the  great  question,  the  question 
that  must  have  an  answer,  is  this :  How  is  it  possible 
to  serve  both  these  masters,  who  are  at  war  with  each 
other  ? 

There  are  no  limits  to  the  power  of  Necessity;  and 
it  finds  an  answer  even  to  so  hard  a  question  as  this. 
The  thinking  members  of  the  community  begin  to 
find  a  compromise,  a  via  media,  between  the  old  and 
the  new.  Either  they  clothe  the  one  in  a  new  guise, 
or  they  cast  a  veil  over  the  other:  anything  rather 
than  that  the  two  should  confront  each  other  in  their 
true  forms.  The  new  guise  may  be  but  an  imperfect 
and  ill-fitting  cloak,  and  the  veil  may  be  full  of  holes ; 
but  as  a  temporary  expedient  it  is  enough.  Society 
finds  peace  for  a  time,  and  can  become  gradually 
accustomed  to  serving  the  two  masters  at  once ;  until 
at  last  the  hour  arrives  when  there  is  no  need  for  a 
modus  Vivendi  between  them.  Men  become  habituated 
to  an  extraordinary  state  of  mind,  in  which  two  con- 
flicting ideas  are  not  fused,  but  are  kept  separate  in 
water-tight  compartments.  Each  idea  works  itself  out 
in  its  own  compartment,  without  interfering  with  the 
other  or  trespassing  on  its  domain. 

"  In  our  day,"  says  an  American  philosopher 
(John  Fiske),  "  it  is  hard  to  realize  the  startling  effect 
of  the  discovery  that  man  does  not  dwell  at  the  centre 


TWO  MASTERS  99 


of  things,  but  is  the  denizen  of  an  obscure  and  tiny 
speck  of  cosmical  matter  quite  invisible  amid  the  in- 
numerable throng  of  flaming  suns  that  make  up  our 
galaxy.  To  the  contemporaries  of  Copernicus  the  new- 
doctrine  seemed  to  strike  at  the  very  foundations  of 
Christian  theology.  In  a  universe  where  so  much  had 
been  made  without  discernible  reference  to  man,  what 
became  of  that  elaborate  scheme  of  salvation  which 
seemed  to  rest  upon  the  assumption  that  the  career  of 
Humanity  was  the  sole  object  of  God's  creative  fore- 
thought and  fostering  care?  When  we  bear  this  in 
mind,  we  see  how  natural  and  inevitable  it  was  that  the 
Church  should  persecute  such  men  as  Galileo  and 
Bruno.  At  the  saine  time  it  is  instructive  to  ob- 
serve that,  while  the  Copernican  astronomy  has  be- 
come firmly  established  in  spite  of  priestly  opposi- 
tion, the  foundations  of  Christian  theology  have  not 
been  shaken  thereby.  It  is  not  that  the  question 
which  once  so  sorely  puzzled  men  has  ever  been  settled, 
but  that  it  has  been  outgrown." 

At  first,  that  is,  when  the  priests  revealed  the  awful 
contradiction  between  the  old  and  the  new,  and  these 
two  forces  stood  opposed  to  each  other,  society 
was  compelled  to  seek  some  answer  to  a  question 
by  which  the  peace  of  mankind  was  disturbed.  So 
volumes  were  written  with  the  object  of  concealing 
the  weakness  of  the  old  belief,  or  casting  a  veil  over 
the  new  .theory.  But  in  course  of  time  the  human 
mind  became  accustomed  to  the  coexistence  of  these 
two  powers;  and  by  dint  of  habit  the  contradiction 


TWO  MASTERS 


between  them  ceased  to  te  a  cause  of  trouble  or  dis- 
turbance of  the  peace.  It  was  no  longer  necessary, 
therefore,  to  combine  the  two  by  artificial  means.  A 
definite  sphere  of  influence  was  conceded  to  each,  in 
which  it  might  hold  undisputed  sway,  without  trench- 
ing on  the  dominion  of  the  other. 

The  result  of  the  change  is  seen  in  its  most  com- 
plete form  in  such  men  as  the  Italian  Secchi,  who 
was  at  the  same  time  a  distinguished  astronomer  and 
a  devout  priest.  When  he  was  asked  how  he  com- 
bined the  two  opposites,  he  used  to  reply,  "  When  I 
study  astronomy  I  forget  my  priesthood,  and  when  I 
perform  my  priestly  duties  I  forget  astronomy." 

We  meet  with  a  similar  state  of  mind  constantly  in 
the  affairs  of  every  day,  only  it  passes  unobserved. 
How  common  it  is  to  find  one  of  the  parties  to  a 
discussion  adducing  arguments  to  show  that  some 
received  opinion,  or  some  established  custom,  cannot 
hold  ground  against  "  the  spirit  of  the  age,"  and  being 
met,  not  with  a  refutation  of  his  arguments,  but  with 
the  curt  reply,  "  That  is  an  old  objection."  Men  of 
healthy  intelligence  regard  this  answer  with  surprise 
and  contempt,  and  return  to  the  charge  with  the  ques- 
tion, "If  the  objection  is  old,  does  it  follow  that  it 
has  no  force  ?  "  Logically  they  are  doubtless  right. 
But  the  human  mind  has  laws  of  its  own,  which  are 
not  always  consonant  with  those  of  logic ;  and  from 
the  point  of  view  of  these  psychological  laws  the 
victory  is  with  the  defendant,  though  he  is  generally 
ignorant  himself  of  the  inner  meaning  of  his  defence. 


TWO  MASTERS 


The  inner  meaning  is  this:  the  contradiction  between 
the  old  and  the  new  has  long  been  matter  of  common 
knowledge,  and  yet  they  both  live  and  flourish.  This 
proves  that  the  human  mind  has  by  now  become 
accustomed  to  their  coexistence,  in  spite  of  the  oppo- 
sition between  them ;  and  therefore  no  harm  can  result 
to  either  from  their  meeting. 

Thus  the  priests  in  the  times  of  Copernicus  and 
Galileo,  opposing  the  new  as  they  did  only  out  of 
regard  for  the  safety  of  the  old,  adopted  a  wise  course 
in  hastening  to  bring  the  two  into  open  conflict,  while 
the  old  belief  was  yet  strong.  They  did  not  succeed 
in  driving  out  the  new  teaching,  as  they  wished ;  but 
they  attained  their  real  object.  The  old  remained, 
its  strength  undiminished,  side  by  side  with  the  new, 
in  spite  of  the  contradiction  between  them. 

There  is  a  lesson  here  for  the  extremists  on  the 
other  side,  the  apostles  of  reform.  It  should  be  their 
business  to  put  off  the  open  conflict  until  their  new 
doctrine  has  done  its  work  in  secret,  and  the  weaken- 
ing of  the  old  belief  has  proceeded  so  far  as  to  render 
possible  its  complete  overthrow.  If  they  do  not  fol- 
low that  course,  but  precipitate  matters,  and  disclose 
the  gulf  in  the  mind  of  society  before  it  has  widened 
to  its  utmost  limits,  hoping  by  this  means  to  hasten 
the  death  of  the  old  belief  and  dethrone  it  prematurely, 
then  their  action  is  ill-advised,  and  their  hopes  will 
not  be  fulfilled.  More  than  that:  they  will  actually 
prolong  the  life  of  the  old  belief,  and  their  own  hands 
will  build  its  defences  against  the  new  doctrine,  by 


TWO  MASTERS 


habituating  society  to  the  conflict,  and  making  men 
regard  the  contradiction  between  the  two  as  "  an  old 
objection." 

This  lesson  in  tactics  has  proved  a  stumbling-block 
to  the  best  spirits  of  our  people  in  the  past ;  and  to 
this  day  they  have  not  mastered  it,  and  a  stumbling- 
block  it  remains. 

Hatred  of  the  Jews  is  one  of  the  best-established 
commands  of  the  past  to  the  nations  of  Europe,  among 
whom  its  roots  are  firm  and  deep.  Jerusalem  and 
Rome — religion  and  life — combined  to  cast  a  hypnotic 
sleep  on  the  "  barbarians  "  who  conquered  Europe,  by 
imposing  on  them  laws  and  ordinances  innumerable ; 
and  this  law  also,  that  of  Jew-hatred,  they  promulgated 
in  concert,  and  handed  it  down  through  many  different 
channels  to  these  their  heirs.  Later  generations 
strengthened  the  law,  and  repeated  it  to  their  children, 
until  it  became  in  very  truth  a  spiritual  disease  trans- 
mitted from  father  to  son.^  Not  that  it  was  a  disease 
at  first.  On  the  contrary:  until  the  end  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  it  might  well  be  reckoned  a  sign  of  health 
in  the  peoples  of  Europe,  because  it  was  in  complete 
accord  with  all  the  other  prevailing  opinions  and  senti- 
ments :  and  what  is  the  health  of  society  but  the  perfect 
harmony  of  all  its  ways  of  thought?  But  in  modern 
times,  since  opinions  and  sentiments  founded  on  the 
conception  of  humanity  have  come  into  being,  and  de- 
veloped, and  gained  a  commanding  influence  on  the 
life  of  society,  Jew-hatred  really  deserves  the  name  of 


'  Leo  Pinsker,  Auto-Emancipation,  p.  5. 


TH^O  MASTERS  103 


a  disease,  inasmuch  as  it  is  opposed  to  the  foundations 
on  which  society  is  based. 

Yet,  call  it  what  you  will,  the  fact  remains  that  this 
hatred,  this  behest  of  past  ages,  remains  in  its  full 
strength,  with  all  its  practical  consequences,  even 
now,  when  the  Present  has  attained  strength  and  a 
large  measure  of  development,  and  in  many  depart- 
ments of  life  the  shadows  of  the  Past  have  vanished. 
This  proves  that  in  this  case  the  Past  had  struck  its 
roots  very  deep,  so  deep  that  the  developing  Present 
has  not  yet  reached  them,  nor  been  able  to  weaken  them 
beneath  the  surface. 

If  our  leaders,  who  fought  the  battle  of  emancipa- 
tion at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  had 
paid  heed  to  this  warning,  they  would  have  armed 
themselves  with  patience  (ever  the  armor  of  our 
people),  and  would  have  waited  for  the  Present  to 
develop  and  strengthen  itself  yet  further.  Then, 
without  the  alarums  of  war,  this  relic  of  the  Past  would 
have  been  undermined ;  its  practical  consequences 
would  have  become  "  dry  bones " ;  and  then  would 
have  been  the  time  to  make  an  open  attack  on  the 
remnant,  in  order  to  sweep  it  out  of  existence.  But 
our  leaders  in  those  days  saw  nothing  but  the  Present, 
and  judged  society  by  themselves.  In  their  "  inner 
consciousness "  there  was  no  longer  any  place  for 
religious  zealotry  or  national  hatred ;  and  so  they 
believed  that  the  forces  of  the  Past  were  equally 
weak  in  society  as  a  whole.  If  society  was  yet  the 
slave  of  the  Past  in  relation  to  the  Jews,  this,  they 


104  TWO  MASTERS 


thought,  could  only  be  due  to  an  error  of  logic,  to  the 
failure  to  recognize  the  contradiction  between  this 
relic  of  the  Past  and  the  spirit  of  the  age.  All  that 
was  necessary,  therefore,  was  to  disclose  this  contra- 
diction: the  shadows  would  vanish  immediately,  and 
the  sun  of  emancipation  would  shine  on  the  Jews. 

It  is  quite  true  that  society  was  taken  aback  at  first, 
and  could  find  no  answer  to  the  complaints  and  the 
demands  of  the  Jews,  who  suddenly  came  forth  from 
the  Ghetto  to  appeal  to  that  humanity  of  which  society 
is  so  proud.  And  so  society  made  an  honest  attempt 
to  silence  the  Past  by  main  force,  and  resolved,  per- 
haps with  a  half-stifled  sigh,  to  include  even  the  hated 
Jew  in  the  great  ideal  of  "  liberty,  equality,  fraternity." 
But  this  artificial  state  of  things  could  not  endure. 
The  Past  was  still  too  strong;  its  voice  rose  in  spite 
of  forcible  attempts  to  silence  it,  and  made  itself 
heard  first  in  the  inner  consciousness  of  men,  then 
publicly  as  an  avowed  doctrine. 

But  even  now  we  fail  to  appreciate  the  significance 
of  this  warning.  In  our  distress  we  still  appeal  to  "  the 
spirit  of  the  age,"  still  insist  on  the  discrepancy  be- 
tween that  spirit  and  our  own  condition.  By  such 
open  and  continuous  insistence  we  compel  society, 
not  to  tear  out  the  Past  by  its  roots  (that  it  could  no 
longer  do,  even  if  it  wished) ,  but  to  seek  some  artificial 
means  of  restoring  the  inner  harmony ;  to  find  some 
excuse  for  amplifying  the  accepted  ideal  of  the  Present 
by  a  small  addition,  which  the  Past  demands :  to  wit, 
"  except  the  Jews,"    Such  an  artificial  means  is  found 


TWO  MASTERS  105 


in  those  monstrous  and  amazing  accusations  which 
are  periodically  revived,  although  convincing  proofs 
of  their  f a'  =;ehood  have  been  published  times  without 
number.  I'nese  accusations,  like  the  speculations  of 
Galileo  and  his  followers  on  the  relation  of  religion 
to  the  Copernican  system,  are  merely  the  result  of 
the  psychological  necessity  of  combining,  by  any  pos- 
sible means,  two  powerful  spiritual  forces  which  are 
in  opposition  to  each  other.  So  long,  therefore,  as 
society  is  compelled,  in  relation  to  the  Jewish  question, 
to  seek  peace  of  soul  by  such  means  as  this,  the  accusa- 
tions in  question  will  always  come  up  again,  and  noth- 
ing can  suppress  them. 

Perhaps — indeed,  it  is  a  fair  conclusion  from  what 
precedes — this  need  for  an  artificial  means  of  har- 
monizing contradictions  is  only  temporary.  Perhaps 
the  continual  conflict  of  Past  and  Present,  in  which 
we  ourselves  are  engaged,  will  gradually  accustom 
society  to  the  coexistence  of  these  two  powers ;  and 
one  day  the  contradiction  will  cease  to  be  a  disturbing 
force,  even  without  the  aid  of  a  harmonizing  middle 
term. 

Should  this  be  so,  it  is  not  outside  the  bounds  of 
possibility  that  in  course  of  time  the  gospel  of  Human- 
ity will  grow  and  spread,  until  it  really  embraces  the 
whole  human  race,  white,  black,  and  yellow,  and  until 
its  wings  shelter  even  the  worst  criminals,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  certain  well-known  criminologists. 
Then  our  world  will  be  a  world  of  righteousness  and 
justice,  mercy  and  pity,  in  relation  to  every  living 


io6  TWO  MASTERS 


thing:  its  mercy  will  extend  even  to  the  bird  in  its 
nest :  but  always — "  except  the  Jews."  If  any  man 
arise  in  that  day  and  ask,  "  How  can  this  be  ?  Surely, 
the  contradiction  is  obvious  and  glaring,"  he  will 
receive  two  answers.  Thinking  men  will  say,  with 
Secchi,  "  When  we  are  occupied  with  Humanity,  we 
forget  the  Jews,  and  when  we  are  occupied  with  the 
Jews,  we  forget  Humanity."  But  simple  men  will 
give  a  simple  answer :  "  That  is  an  old  objection." 


•  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

(1893) 

We  use  the  tenn  Imitation,  generally  in  a  depre- 
ciatory sense,  to  indicate  that  which  a  man  says,  does, 
thinks,  or  feels,  not  out  of  his  own  inner  life,  as  an  in- 
evitable consequence  of  his  spiritual  condition  and  his 
relation  to  the  external  world,  but  by  virtue  of  his  in- 
grained tendency  to  make  himself  like  others,  and  to 
be  this  or  that  because  others  are  this  or  that. 

If  we  accept  the  doctrine  that  moral  good  is  good 
in  itself,  and  evil  evil  in  itself,  and  that  we  distinguish 
between  the  two  not  by  syllogisms,  but  by  a  particular 
"  moral  sense  "  implanted  in  our  being,  then  we  are 
certainly  justified  in  regarding  Imitation  as  a  moral 
shortcoming.  The  moral  sense  does  not  approve  this 
habit  of  the  ape.  But  if  we  agree  with  another  school 
of  thought,  that  the  distinction  between  good  and  evil 
rests  on  a  balancing  of  gains  and  losses  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  happiness  and  development  of  human 
society,  then  we  may  doubt  whether  the  judgment  of 
the  moral  sense  in  this  case  is  just.  There  may  be  a 
certain  amount  of  exaggeration  and  one-sidedness  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  French  thinker  Tarde,  who  holds  that 
all  history  is  but  the  fruit  of  Imitation,  acting  in 
accordance  with  certain  laws.  But  as  to  the  essential 
point,  a  cursory  examination  of  history  is  sufficient 


io8  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

to  convince  us  that  this  not  entirely  praiseworthy 
habit  is  in  truth  one  of  the  foundations  of  society, 
without  which  its  birth  and  development  would  have 
been  impossible.  For,  consider:  had  men  been  by 
nature  not  inclined  in  any  way  to  follow  one  another, 
had  each  one  thought  his  thoughts,  and  done  his 
deeds,  out  of  his  own  inner  world  alone,  without 
yielding  obedience  to  the  force  of  any  other  person- 
ality, could  men  like  these  have  attained,  by  common 
consent,  to  such  social  possessions  as  established  laws 
and  customs,  and  common  ideas  about  religion  and 
morality,  possessions  which  are,  indeed,  in  their 
general  aspect,  natural  results  of  general  causes,  but 
which,  regarded  in  detail,  depend  wholly  on  causes 
of  a  particular  and  individual  character?  Above  all, 
how  could  language  have  been  created  and  developed 
in  any  society,  if  no  man  had  imitated  his  neighbor, 
but  each  had  waited  until  he  reached  the  spiritual  con- 
dition in  which  he  would  be  impelled  to  call  each  thing 
by  the  particular  name  by  which  his  neighbor  called 
it?  Without  language,  no  knowledge:  and  so  man 
would  never  have  risen  above  the  beast. 

But  even  Imitation  would  not  have  been  enough  to 
secure  the  spreading  of  these  common  possessions 
among  all  the  individual  members  of  society,  if  each 
individual  had  imitated  all  the  rest  in  an  equal  degree. 
In  that  case  the  number  of  the  objects  of  imitation 
would  have  been  equal  to  that  of  the  imitators ;  each 
man  would  have  chosen  one  object  of  imitation  out 
of  many,  according  to  his  "  spiritual  condition  " ;  and 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION  109 

SO  the  same  difficulty  would  confront  us  again.  If 
society  is  to  be  moulded  into  one  single  form,  there 
must  be  some  centre  towards  which  all  the  forces  of 
Imitation  are  attracted,  directly  or  indirectly,  and 
which  thus  becomes  the  single  or  the  chief  object  of 
universal   imitation. 

Such  a  centre  was,  indeed,  found  in  every  society 
in  the  earliest  stages  of  its  development,  and  especially 
in  that  primitive  period  in  which  the  human  spirit 
was  struggling  to  emerge  from  the  depths  of  beast- 
hood  and  attain  to  a  human  and  social  form  of  life. 
At  that  low  stage,  in  which  savage  tribes  remain  to 
this  day,  when  man  was  constantly  threatened  by 
dangers  from  all  sides,  he  set  an  exaggerated  value 
on  brute  force,  and  reverenced  the  stronger  as  an 
angel  of  Heaven.  Every  family  or  tribe  looked  with 
reverence  on  its  head  and  protector,  "  the  prince  of 
God  in  its  midst."  The  individuality  of  each  man, 
with  all  its  particular  characteristics  and  qualities, 
was  completely  suppressed  before  the  majestic  dignity 
of  this  their  ideal.  Thus  he  became  the  centre  towards 
which  the  imitative  instinct  of  all  his  fellow-tribesmen 
directed  itself  automatically ;  and  it  is  no  wonder  if, 
not  of  design  or  set  purpose,  but  merely  through  the 
effacement  of  the  lower  personality  before  the  higher, 
his  words  and  his  actions  and  his  habits  became  the 
common  possession  of  the  whole  tribe.  This  common 
possession  was  handed  down  as  an  inheritance  from 
father  to  son ;  and  in  each  succeeding  generation  there 
was  another  "  prince  of  God,"  who  was  faithful  to 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 


tradition,  but  also  amplified  it  where  it  no  longer 
satisfied  the  needs  of  a  more  developed  life ;  and  so  his 
addition  became,  through  imitation,  common  property. 
Thus,  by  an  easy  process,  certain  fixed  habits  of  life 
became  general  in  that  particular  society,  until,  in 
course  of  time,  its  individual  members  were  like  so 
many  reproductions  of  a  single  type. 

There  is  no  nation  or  society,  not  even  the  most 
modern,  that  did  not  originally  pass  through  this  or 
a  similar  stage :  the  stage  of  becoming,  or  growth,  in 
which  scattered  elements  are  welded  together  into  a 
single  social  body  around  certain  central  figures,  by 
means  of  self-efifacing  Imitation.  But  in  more  modern 
times,  when  the  human  spirit  has  progressed  some- 
what, there  is  this  diflference,  that  the  cause  of  self- 
effacement,  and  thus  of  imitation  and  of  the  welding 
process,  is  not  necessarily  a  purely  physical  force,  but 
may  equally  well  be  some  great  force  of  a  spiritual 
character. 

Imitation  of  this  kind,  however,  which  has  for  its 
central  object  some  living,  active  individual,  inevitably 
grows  rarer  and  rarer  from  one  generation  to  another. 
Each  new  generation  inherits  from  its  predecessors 
the  results  of  Imitation  up  to  that  time,  that  is,  the 
things  that  have  become  common  property;  and  as 
these  things  increase  in  number,  so  does  the  society 
approach  the  perfection  of  its  form:  until  at  last  that 
form  is  complete  and  rounded  on  all  sides,  and  the 
best  men  of  the  living  generation  have  no  opportunity 
of  adding  anything  essential  to  it.     From  that  time 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 


onwards,  therefore,  the  central  object  of  imitation 
lies  wholly  in  the  past,  in  those  "  mighty  men  of  re- 
nown "  who  in  their  day  impressed  their  own  image 
on  the  form  of  society.  Just  as  the  results  of  Imita- 
tion during  all  the  generations  of  growth  have  been 
combined  into  a  single  form  of  life,  so,  too,  those 
who  made  that  form  in  those  earlier  generations  are 
now  combined,  under  the  name  of  "  ancestors "  or 
"  predecessors,"  into  a  single  abstract  being,  which 
is  the  central  object  of  imitation.  Before  this  model 
the  men  of  later  generations,  great  and  small  alike, 
efface  their  own  particular  individuality ;  on  this  they 
gaze  with  reverence  and  say,  "If  our  predecessors 
were  as  men,  then  are  we  but  as  asses."  ^ 

At  the  same  time,  the  imitation  of  one  man  by  another 
within  the  living  generation  does  not  cease ;  but  it 
is  confined  to  unimportant  details,  it  lacks  a  single 
common  centre,  and,  as  a  rule,  it  arises  from  quite  a 
different  cause.  That  self-effacement,  which  is  the 
result  of  reverent  awe,  no  longer  finds  a  suitable  ob- 
ject in  the  present,  which  is  living  entirely  on  the 
past ;  and  so  the  impulse  to  imitation  of  the  living  by 
the  living  is  now  given  by  competition,  the  roots  of 
which*lie  in  jealousy  and  self-love.  There  are  many 
who  succeed  even  then  in  attracting  the  attention  of 
society,  and  rising  above  their  fellows,  through  some 
new  discovery  in  matters  of  detail,  whether  theoretical 
or  practical.  Their  success  impels  others  to  follow  in 
their  footsteps,  not  by  way  of  self-effacement,  but,  on 


^[Shabbat,  112'.] 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 


the  contrary,  out  of  jealousy  for  their  own  individual- 
ity, and  a  desire  to  rise  to  the  same  level  as  others. 

This  kind  of  Imitation  differs  from  the  other  in 
its  character  as  in  its  cause.  At  the  stage  that  we 
have  called  self-effacement  the  imitator  wishes  to  copy 
the  spirit  or  personality  of  the  model,  as  it  is  mani- 
fested in  his  actions ;  he  therefore  imitates  these 
actions  in  every  detail,  faithful  to  the  impress  stamped 
upon  them  by  the  personality  by  which  he  is  attracted. 
But  at  the  stage  of  competition,  the  whole  desire  of 
the  imitator  is  to  reveal  his  own  spirit  or  personality 
in  those  ways  in  which  the  model  revealed  his.  He 
therefore  endeavors  to  change  the  original  impress, 
according  as  his  personality  or  his  position  differs 
from  that  of  his  model. 

This  kind  of  Imitation,  also,  is  of  benefit  to  society. 
The  self-effacing  imitation  of  the  past  secures  stability 
and  solidity ;  the  competitive  imitation  of  one  indi- 
vidual by  another  makes  for  progress,  not  by  means  of 
noisy  and  sudden  revolutions,  but  by  means  of  con- 
tinual small  additions,  which  have  in  time  a  cumu- 
lative effect,  and  carry  society  beyond  the  limits  laid 
down  by  the  "  predecessors." 

But  Imitation  is  not  always  confined  to  the  sphere 
of  a  single  society.  Progress  gradually  brings  dif- 
ferent societies  into  closer  intimacy  and  fuller  acquain- 
tance with  one  another ;  and  then  Imitation  widens 
its   scope,   and  becomes    intersocial   or   international. 

The  character  of  this  Imitation  will  be  determined 
by  the  character  of  the  communities  that  are  brought 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION  113 

into  contact.  If  they  are  more  or  less  equal  in  strength 
and  on  much  the  same  level  of  culture,  then  there  will 
immediately  be  "  competitive  imitation "  on  both 
sides.  Either  vi^ill  learn  from  the  other  new  ways 
of  expressing  its  spirit,  and  will  strive  to  surpass  the 
other  in  those  ways.  But  it  will  be  different  if  one  of 
the  two  societies  concerned  is  so  much  smaller  and 
weaker  than  the  other  in  physical  or  spiritual  strength 
as  to  feel  its  own  lack  of  vitality  and  individuality 
when  brought  face  to  face  with  the  superior  commun- 
ity. In  that  case  the  result  will  be  a  self-effacing  imi- 
tation on  the  part  of  the  weaker,  arising  not  from  a 
desire  to  express  its  own  spirit,  but  from  respect  and 
submission.  This  imitation  will  be  complete  and 
slavish.  It  will  not  stop  at  those  qualities  which  have 
impelled  the  weaker  community  to  efface  its  own  indi- 
viduality, and  in  which  the  imitated  community  really 
excels ;  it  will  extend  also  to  those  qualities  which,  in 
the  superior  community  itself,  are  only  the  result  of 
subservience  to  the  distant  past,  and  which,  accord- 
ingly, would  never  have  forced  themselves,  of  their 
own  strength,  on  any  community  which  had  not  itself 
inherited  that  past. 

No  community  can  sink  to  such  a  position  as  this 
without  danger  to  its  very  existence.  The  new  sub- 
servience to  a  foreign  community  gradually  replaces 
the  old  subservience  to  its  own  past,  and  the  centre 
to  which  the  forces  of  imitation  are  directed  shifts 
more  and  more  from  the  latter  to  the  former.  The 
national  or  communal  self-consciousness  loses  its  foun- 
8 


114  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

dation,  and  gradually  fades  away,  until  at  last  the 
community  reaches  an  unnatural  condition,  which 
is  neither  life  nor  death.  "  The  soul  is  burnt  out,  yet 
the  body  remains."  ^  Then  the  individual  members 
find  a  way  of  escape  from  this  death-in-life  by  com- 
plete assimilation  with  the  foreign  community. 

When  the  cause  of  this  self-effacement  is  physical 
or  material  strength,  and  the  weaker  community  can- 
not hope  to  strengthen  itself  on  the  material  side,  then, 
indeed,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  assimilation.  It  was 
in  this  way  that  the  smaller  nations  of  ancient  times 
disappeared  when  their  territories  were  conquered  by 
more  powerful  nations.  The  strong  arm — the  highest 
ideal  of  those  days — always  brought  about  the  self- 
effacement  of  the  conquered  nation  before  the  con- 
queror; and  after  long  years  of  slavery  and  humilia- 
tion, with  no  possibility  of  self-help,  the  survivors  lost 
their  reverence  for  their  own  past,  and  one  by  one 
left  the  fold  to  become  swallowed  up  in  the  stronger 
enemy. 

But  such  is  not  the  usual  development  when  the 
self-effacement  is  due  to  some  great  spiritual  force. 
An  external,  material  force  is  clearly  discernible  in  its 
effects,  and  it  is  impossible  for  the  weaker  community 
to  belittle  its  importance,  or  to  stem  the  tide  of  its 
progress.  But  the  advent  of  a  foreign  spiritual  force 
is  not  so  obvious ;  and  means  can  be  found  by  which 
its  importance  can  be  made  to  appear  less,  and  its 
progress  can  be  hindered,  among  a  people  to  which  it 

*  [Sanhedrin,  52  ^] 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION  us 

is  foreign.  When,  therefore,  a  community  finds  its 
individuality  endangered  by  an  alien  spiritual  force, 
and  men  begin  to  imitate  the  foreign  mode  of  life  in 
which  that  force  is  embodied,  there  will  always  be  a 
party  of  patriots,  who  strive  to  belittle  the  external 
force  in  the  estimation  of  their  own  people,  and  to 
cut  off  their  people  entirely  from  all  contact  with  the 
foreign  life,  so  that  it  may  have  no  attraction  for  them. 
These  patriots  generally  succeed  at  first  in  staying 
the  progress  of  the  external  force,  and  thus  pre- 
vent imitation.  But  this  prevention  is  not  a  com- 
plete cure.  The  community  remains  always  in  danger ; 
it  may  be  that  the  conditions  of  life  will  break  down 
the  barriers  erected  by  force,  and  then  contact  will 
lead  to  self-effacement,  self-effacement  to  imitation, 
and  imitation  to  assimilation.  Nay,  more:  the  very 
separation  sometimes  has  the  opposite  effect  to  that 
which  is  intended:  for  there  are  many  who  catch 
glimpses  of  the  foreign  life  from  afar,  and  admire  it 
without  being  able  to  approach,  until  at  last  they  leap 
over  the  barrier  once  for  all,  and  escape  to  the  enemy's 
camp. 

As  a  result  of  this  experiment  in  restriction,  the 
leaders  of  the  community  generally  learn — and  it  is 
fortunate  for  them  and  for  the  community  if  they  learn 
in  time — that  it  is  not  Imitation  as  such  that  leads  to 
Assimilation.  The  real  cause  is  the  original  self- 
effacement,  which  leads  to  Assimilation  through  the 
medium  of  Imitation.  Their  task,  therefore,  is  not  to 
check  Imitation,  but  to  abolish  self-effacement.    This 


ii6  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

abolition,  too,  must  be  effected  by  means  of  Imitation, 
but  of  the  competitive  kind.  That  is  to  say,  they  must 
appropriate  for  their  community  that  spiritual  force 
which  is  the  cause  of  the  self-effacement,  so  that  the 
community  will  no  longer  look  with  distant  awe  on 
the  foreign  life  in  which  that  force  is  embodied,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  will  turn  that  force  to  its  own  uses, 
in  order,  as  we  said,  "  to  reveal  its  own  spirit  or  per- 
sonality in  those  ways  in  which  the  model  revealed 
his."  When  once  the  community  is  started  on  this 
path  of  Imitation,  self-love  will  make  it  believe  in  its 
own  strength,  and  value  the  imitative  actions  peculiar 
to  itself  more  than  those  developed  by  its  model.  The 
further  imitation  proceeds  on  these  lines,  the  more  it 
reveals  the  spirit  of  the  imitators,  and  the  less  it  re- 
mains faithful  to  the  original  type.  Thus  the  self- 
consciousness  of  the  imitating  community  becomes 
ever  stronger,  and  the  danger  of  Assimilation  disap- 
pears. 

Examples  of  this  kind  of  imitation  are  found  both 
in  ancient  and  in  modern  history.  Such  was  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Romans  to  Greek  culture ;  such  the  rela- 
tion of  the  Russians  to  the  culture  of  Western  Europe. 
Both  began  with  self-effacement  before  a  foreign 
spiritual'  force,  and  therefore  with  slavish  imitation 
of  a  foreign  kind  of  life,  in  thought,  speech,  and  action. 
Patriots  like  Cato,  who  tried  to  shut  out  the  stream 
of  imitation  altogether,  succeeded  only  partially  and 
temporarily.  Patriots  of  clearer  vision  began  subse- 
quently to  lead  Imitation  along  the  road  of  competition, 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION  117 

of  a  striving  to  embody  the  spiritual  force — the  cause 
of  self-effacement — in  the  particular  type  of  life  of 
their  own  people.  The  result  was  that  the  self-efface- 
ment ceased,  and  the  Imitation  produced  a  strengthen- 
ing of  the  national  self-consciousness. 

This  will  explain  why  the  Jewish  race  has  persisted 
in  exile,  and  has  not  become  lost  in  the  nations,  in  spite 
of  its  inveterate  tendency  to  Imitation. 

As  early  as  the  time  of  the  Prophets,  our  ancestors 
learned  to  despise  physical  strength,  and  to  honor  only 
the  power  of  the  spirit.  For  this  reason,  they  never 
allowed  their  own  individuality  to  be  effaced  because  of 
the  superior  physical  strength  of  the  persecutor.  It  was 
only  in  the  face  of  some  great  spiritual  force  in  the  life 
of  a  foreign  people  that  they  could  sink  their  own  indi- 
viduality and  give  themselves  up  entirely  to  that  life. 
Knowing  this,  their  leaders  endeavored  to  cut  them 
off  entirely  from  the  spiritual  life  of  other  nations, 
and  not  to  allow  the  smallest  opening  for  imitation. 
This  policy  of  separation,  apart  from  the  fact  that  it 
caused  many  to  leap  over  the  barrier  once  for  all, 
could  not,  in  view  of  the  position  of  our  people  among 
the  nations,  be  carried  out  consistently.  When  the 
era  of  contact  set  in,  and  continued  unbroken,  there 
were  constant  proofs  that  the  apprehensions  of  the 
patriots  had  been  groundless,  and  their  efforts  at  restric- 
tion unnecessary.  The  Jews  have  not  merely  a  ten- 
dency to  Imitation,  but  a  genius  for  it.  Whatever  they 
imitate,  they  imitate  well.  Before  long  they  succeed  in 
appropriating  for  themselves  the  foreign  spiritual  force 


ii8  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

to  which  they  have  become  subservient.  Then  their 
teachers  show  them  how  to  use  this  force  for  their  own 
ends,  in  order  to  reveal  their  own  spirit;  and  so  the 
self-effacement  ceases,  and  the  Imitation,  turned  into 
the  channel  of  competition,  gives  added  strength  to  the 
Hebrew  self-consciousness. 

Long  before  the  Hellenists  in  Palestine  tried  to  sub- 
stitute Greek  culture  for  Judaism,  the  Jews  in  Egypt 
had  come  into  close  contact  with  the  Greeks,  with  their 
life,  their  spirit,  and  their  philosophy:  yet  we  do  not 
find  among  them  any  pronounced  movement  towards 
Assimilation.  On  the  contrary,  they  employed  their 
Greek  knowledge  as  an  instrument  for  revealing  the 
essential  spirit  of  Judaism,  for  showing  the  world  its 
beauty,  and  vindicating  it  against  the  proud  philosophy 
of  Greece.  That  is  to  say,  starting  from  an  Imitation 
which  had  its  source  in  self-effacement  before  an 
alien  spiritual  force,  they  succeeded,  by  means  of  that 
Imitation,  in  making  the  force  their  own,  and  in  pass- 
ing from  self-effacement  to  competition. 

If  those  Elders,  who  translated  the  Bible  into 
Greek  for  the  benefit  of  the  Egyptian  Jews,  had  also 
translated  Plato  into  Hebrew  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Jews  in  Palestine,  in  order  to  make  the  spiritual  power 
of  the  Greeks  a  possession  of  our  people  on  its  own 
land  and  in  its  own  language,  then,  we  may  well  be- 
lieve, the  same  process — the  transition  from  self-efface- 
ment to  competition — would  have  taken  place  in 
Palestine  also;  but  in  a  still  higher  degree,  and  with 
consequences  yet  more  important  for  the  development 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION  119 

of  the  inner  spirit  of  Judaism.  As  a  result  there 
would  have  been  no  "  traitorous  enemies  of  the  cove- 
nant "  among  our  people,  and  perhaps  there  would  have 
been  no  need  of  the  Maccabees  and  all  the  spiritual 
history  which  had  its  ultimate  cause  in  that  period. 
Perhaps — who  knows? — the  whole  history  of  the 
human  race  would  have  taken  a  totally  different 
course. 

But  the  Elders  did  not  translate  Plato  into  Hebrew. 
It  was  only  at  a  much  later  dat^,  in  the  period  of 
Arabic  culture,  that  the  Greek  spirit  became  a  posses- 
sion of  our  people  in  their  own  language — but  not  on 
their  own  land.  And  yet  even  then,  though  on  foreign 
soil,  self-effacement  soon  gave  place  to  competition, 
and  this  form  of  Imitation  had  the  most  astonishing 
results.  Language,  literature,  and  religion,  all  renewed 
their  youth ;  and  each  helped  to  reveal  the  inner  spirit 
of  Judaism  through  the  medium  of  the  new  spiritual 
possession.  To  such  an  extent  did  this  new  spirit  be- 
come identified  with  the  Hebrew  individuality  that 
the  thinkers  of  the  period  could  not  believe  that  it 
was  foreign  to  them,  and  that  Israel  could  ever  have 
existed  without  it.  They  could  not  rest  satisfied  until 
they  found  an  ancient  legend  to  the  effect  that  Socrates 
and  Plato  learned  their  philosophy  from  the  Prophets, 
and  that  the  whole  of  Greek  philosophy  was  stolen 
from  Jewish  books  which  perished  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Temple. 

Since  that  time  our  history  has  again  divided  itself 
into  two  periods — a  long  period  of  complete  separa- 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 


tion,  and  a  short  period  of  complete  self-effacement. 
But  once  more  we  are  nearing  the  conviction  that 
safety  lies  on  neither  of  these  ways,  but  on  a  third, 
which  is  midway  between  them :  that  is,  the  perfection 
of  the  national  individuality  by  means  of  competitive 
Imitation. 

Signs  of  this  conviction  are  to  be  found  not  alone  in 
the  most  recent  years,  since  the  day  when  Nationalism 
became  the  watchword  of  a  party  in  Israel,  but  also 
much  earlier.  We  find  them  on  the  theoretical  side  in 
the  production  of  a  literature,  in  European  languages, 
dealing  with  the  spirit  of  Judaism  and  its  value ;  on  the 
practical  side,  in  a  movement  towards  the  reform  of  the 
externals  of  Judaism.  This  practical  movement  is, 
indeed,  held  by  many,  including  some  of  the  reformers 
themselves,  to  be  a  long  step  towards  Assimilation.  But 
they  are  wrong.  When  self-effacement  has  proceeded 
so  far  that  those  who  practice  it  no  longer  feel  any  inner 
bond  uniting  them  with  their  own  past,  and  really  wish 
to  emancipate  the  community  by  means  of  complete 
assimilation  with  a  foreign  body,  then  they  no  longer 
feel  even  the  necessity  of  raising  their  inheritance  to 
that  degree  of  perfection  which,  according  to  their 
ideas,  it  demands.  On  the  contrary,  they  tend  rather  to 
leave  it  alone  and  allow  it  to  perish  of  itself.  Until  that 
day  comes,  they  imitate  the  customs  of  their  ancestors 
to  an  extent  determined  by  accident.  It  is  a  sort  of 
artificial,  momentary  self-effacement,  as  though  it  were 
not  they  themselves  who  acted  so,  but  the  spirit  of 
their  ancestors  had  entered  into  them  at  that  moment, 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 


and  had  acted  as  it  had  been  accustomed  to  act  of  old. 

Geiger  expresses  the  opinion  that  a  writer  who 
writes  in  Hebrew  at  the  present  day  does  not  express 
his  own  inner  spirit,  but  lives  for  the  time  being  in 
another  world,  the  world  of  the  Talmud  and  the 
Rabbis,  and  adopts  their  mode  of  thinking.  This  is 
true  of  most  of  our  Western  scholars,  as  is  evident 
from  their  style,  because  in  their  case  the  link  between 
their  ancestral  language  and  their  own  being  is  broken. 
But  with  the  Hebrew  writers  of  Northern  Europe  and 
Palestine,  for  whom  Hebrew  is  still  a  part  of  their 
being,  the  case  is  just  the  reverse.  When  they  write, 
the  necessity  of  writing  Hebrew  springs  from  their 
innermost  being ;  and  they  therefore  strive  to  improve 
the  language  and  bring  it  to  a  stage  of  perfection  that 
will  enable  them  to  express  their  thoughts  in  it  with 
freedom,  just  as  their  ancestors  did. 

When,  therefore,  we  find  Geiger  and  his  school  giv- 
ing their  whole  lives  and  all  their  powers  to  the  reform 
of  another  part  of  their  inheritance,  according  to  their 
own  ideas ;  when  we  find  them  content  to  accept  the 
language  as  it  is,  but  not  content  to  accept  the  religion 
as  it  is :  we  have  here  a  decisive  proof  that  it  is  on  the 
religious  side  that  their  Hebrew  individuality  still 
lives.  That  individuality  is  not  dead  in  them,  but  only 
stunted ;  and  their  real  and  true  desire,  whether  or  not 
they  admit  this  to  themselves  and  to  others,  is  just 
this  :  "  To  reveal  their  own  spirit  or  personality  in  those 
ways  in  which  their  model  reveals  his." 

Assimilation,  then,  is  not  a  danger  that  the  Jewish 


122  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

people  must  dread  for  the  future.  What  it  has  to  fear 
is  being  split  up  into  fragments.  The  manner  in  which 
the  Jews  work  for  the  perfection  of  their  individuality 
depends  everywhere  on  the  character  of  that  foreign 
spiritual  force  which  is  at  work  in  their  surroundings, 
and  which  arouses  them  to  what  we  have  called  "  com- 
petitive imitation."  One  cannot  but  fear,  therefore, 
that  their  efforts  may  be  dissipated  in  various  direc- 
tions, according  as  the  "  spiritual  force  "  varies  in  dif- 
ferent countries ;  so  that  in  the  end  Israel  will  be  no 
longer  one  people,  but  a  number  of  separate  tribes,  as 
at  the  beginning  of  its  history. 

Such  an  apprehension  may  derive  support  from 
experience.  The  Jews  of  Northern  Europe,  for  ex- 
ample, received  their  first  lessons  in  Western  culture 
from  the  Jews  of  Germany.  Thus  their  central  ob- 
ject of  Imitation,  before  which  they  sank  their  own 
individuality,  was  not  the  "  foreign  spiritual  force " 
at  work  in  their  surroundings,  but  that  which  they  saw 
at  work  among  their  own  people  in  Germany.  They 
therefore  imitated  the  German  Jews  slavishly,  without 
regard  to  differences  of  place  and  condition,  as  though 
they  also  had  been  perfect  Germans  in  every  respect. 
But  in  course  of  time,  when  the  Jews  of  Northern 
Europe  had  made  "  enlightenment "  their  own  to  a 
certain  extent,  and  became  conscious  of  their  new- 
won  strength,  they  passed  from  the  stage  of  self- 
effacement  to  that  of  competition  in  relation  to  the 
Jews  of  Germany,  and  began  to  depart  from  their 
prototype,  being  influenced  by  the  different  character 


IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION  123 

of  the  "  spiritual  force  "  in  the  countries  in  which  they 
lived.  Similarly,  the  Jews  of  France  are  even  now  a 
model  for  Imitation  to  the  Jews  in  the  East ;  but 
even  in  their  case  this  state  of  things  is  only  temporary, 
and  will  disappear  when  the  Eastern  Jews  become 
conscious  of  their  new  strength.  Thus,  the  more 
any  section  of  our  people  adds  to  its  spiritual  strength, 
the  more  completely  it  becomes  emancipated  from  the 
influence  of  that  other  section  which  it  formerly  imi- 
tated ;  and  so  the  danger  of  being  split  up  into  fragments 
grows  ever  more  serious. 

But  there  is  one  escape — and  one  only — from  this 
danger.  Just  as  in  the  stage  of  growth  the  members 
of  the  community  were  welded  into  a  single  whole, 
despite  their  different  individual  characteristics, 
through  the  agency  of  one  central  individual ;  so  also 
in  the  stage  of  dissipation  the  different  sections  of  the 
people  can  be  welded  together,  in  spite  of  their  dif- 
ferent local  characteristics,  through  the  agency  of 
a  local  centre,  which  will  possess  a  strong  attraction 
for  all  of  them,  not  because  of  some  accidental  or 
temporary  relation,  but  by  virtue  of  its  own  right. 
Such  a  centre  will  claim  a  certain  allegiance  from  each 
scattered  section  of  the  people.  Each  section  will  de- 
velop its  own  individuality  along  lines  determined  by 
imitation  of  its  own  surroundings ;  but  all  will  find  in 
this  centre  at  once  a  purifying  fire  and  a  connecting 
link. 

In  the  childhood  of  the  Jewish  people,  when  it  was 
split  up  into  separate  tribes,  the  military  prowess  of 


124  IMITATION  AND  ASSIMILATION 

David  and  the  wise  statesmanship  of  Solomon  suc- 
ceeded in  creating  for  it  a  centre  such  as  this,  "  whither 
the  tribes  went  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord."  But  to-day, 
in  its  old  age,  neither  strength  nor  wisdom  nor  even 
wealth  will  avail  to  create  such  a  centre  anew.  And 
so  all  those  who  desire  to  see  the  nation  reunited  will 
be  compelled,  in  spite  of  themselves,  to  bow  before 
historical  necessity,  and  to  turn  eastwards,  to  the  land 
which  was  our  centre  and  our  pattern  in  ancient  days.^ 

^  [Here  also,  as  in  "Past  and  Future"  (pp.  80-90),  there  is 
an  allusion  to  the  attempt  of  Baron  Hirsch  to  create  a  Jewish 
national  centre  in  the  Argentine — an  attempt  which  at  that 
time  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  Jewish  communities  in 
Russia,  and  was  regarded  by  many  as  the  beginning  of  the 
national  redemption.] 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

(1893) 

We  learn  from  the  science  of  mechanics  that  the 
impact  of  two  forces  moving  in  different  directions — 
one  eastward,  for  example,  and  one  northward — will 
produce  a  movement  in  an  intermediate  direction.  At 
a  time  when  men  were  accustomed  to  attribute  all 
motion  to  a  guiding  will,  they  may  have  explained  this 
phenomenon  by  supposing  that  the  two  original  forces 
made  a  compromise,  and  agreed  that  each  should  be 
satisfied  with  a  little,  so  as  to  leave  something  for  the 
other.  Nowadays,  when  we  distinguish  between 
volitional  and  mechanical  motion,  we  know  that  this 
"  compromise  "  is  not  the  result  of  a  conscious  assent 
on  the  part  of  the  two  forces ;  that,  on  the  contrary, 
each  of  them  plays  for  its  own  hand,  and  endeavors 
not  to  be  turned  from  its  course  even  a  hair's  breadth ; 
and  that  it  is  just  this  struggle  between  them  that 
produces  the  intermediate  movement,  which  takes  a 
direction  not  identical  with  either  of  the  other  two. 

The  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  are  determined, 
as  is  well  known,  not  only  by  the  relation  of  each  one 
to  the  sun,  but  also  by  their  influence  on  one  another, 
by  which  each  is  compelled  to  swerve  to  some  extent 
from  the  course  that  it  would  have  pursued  if  left  to 
itself.     If,  therefore,  we  were  privileged,  as  Socrates 


126  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

was,  to  hear  the  "  heavenly  harmony,"  it  may  be  that 
we  should  hear  nothing  but  continual  wrangling 
among  the  worlds  above.  We  should  find  each  one 
striving  with  all  its  might  to  make  for  itself  a  path 
according  to  its  own  particular  bent,  and  unwilling  to 
budge  a  single  inch  for  the  convenience  of  the  others. 
But  it  is  just  because  the  stars  do  behave  thus  that  no 
single  one  has  its  own  way ;  and  so  the  external  har- 
mony is  produced  by  the  agency  of  all  the  stars,  and 
without  the  consent  of  a  single  one.  Nay,  more :  if, 
by  some  miracle,  a  few  of  the  stars  were  suddenly 
smitten  with  what  we  call  "  generosity,"  and  were 
enabled  to  get  outside  their  own  narrow  point  of 
view,  and  to  understand  and  allow  for  the  ambitions 
of  their  fellow-stars,  and  consequently  made  way  for 
one  another  of  their  own  accord,  then  the  whole  cosmic 
order  would  be  destroyed  at  once,  and  chaos  would 
reign  once  more. 

Similarly,  if  it  were  possible  to  observe  what  hap- 
pens in  the  microcosm  of  the  human  soul,  we  should 
see  the  same  phenomenon  there. 

The  ancient  Jewish  sages,  who  looked  ai  the  world 
through  the  glass  of  morality,  saw  only  two  primal 
forces  at  work  in  the  spiritual  life:  the  impulse  to 
good  and  the  impulse  to  evil.  The  conflict  between 
these  two  opposing  forces  was  as  long  as  life  itself : 
they  fought  unceasingly,  unwearyingly,  without  possi- 
bility of  peace,  each  striving  for  the  complete  fulfil- 
ment of  its  own  end,  even  to  the  uttermost.  The 
impulse  to  evil   (so  they  held)   was  absolutely  evil, 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET  1 27 


redeemed  by  no  single  spark  of  goodness.  They 
pictured  it  lying  in  wait  for  every  man  to  the  end  of 
his  days,  tempting  him  to  evil  deeds  and  arousing  in 
him  base  desires,  ever  tending  mercilessly  to  drag 
him  down  to  the  lowest  depths  of  sin  and  infamy. 
And,  on  the  other  side,  they  beheld  the  impulse  to 
good  as  something  absolutely  good ;  intolerant  of  evil 
in  any  form,  in  any  degree,  for  any  purpose  ;  abominat- 
ing all  "  the  vanities  of  this  world,"  even  such  as  are 
necessary,  because  of  their  essential  inferiority ;  striv- 
ing ever  to  uplift  a  man  higher  and  higher,  to  make 
him  wholly  spiritual.  Each  of  the  two  principles  is 
absolutely  uncompromising;  but  it  is  just  for  this 
reason  that  their  struggle  results  in  a  compromise  and 
a  certain  balance  of  power.  Neither  of  them  is  allowed 
to  destroy  the  world  by  holding  undivided  sway.  It 
happened  once — so  a  charming  Talmudic  story  ^  relates 
— that  the  Righteous  captured  the  impulse  to  evil,  and 
clapped  it  in  prison.  For  three  whole  days  the  impulse 
to  good  was  sole  ruler :  "  and  they  sought  for  a  new- 
laid  egg,  and  none  was  found." 

Modern  European  scholars,  who  investigate  the 
soul  from  a  very  different  point  of  view,  find  in  it 
many  more  than  two  forces;  but  they  describe  the 
workings  of  those  forces  in  much  the  same  way.  A 
French  thinker,  Paulhan,  regards  the  human  soul  as 
a  large  community,  containing  innumerable  individ- 
uals: that  is  to  say,  impressions,  ideas,  feelings,  im- 
pulses, and  so  forth.    Each  of  these  individuals  lives  a 

»[Yoma,  69*.] 


128  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

life  of  its  own,  and  struggles  to  widen  the  sphere  of  its 
influence,  associating  with  itself  all  that  is  akin  to  its 
own  character,  and  repelling  all  that  is  opposed  to 
it.  Each  strives,  in  short,  to  set  its  own  impress  on 
the  whole  life  of  the  soul.  There  is  no  mutual  accommo- 
dation among  them,  no  regard  for  one  another.  The 
triumph  of  one  is  the  defeat  of  another;  and  the  de- 
feated idea  or  impulse  never  acquiesces  in  its  defeat, 
but  remains  ever  on  the  alert,  waiting  for  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  reassert  itself  and  extend  its  dominion. 
And  it  is  just  through  this  action  of  the  individual 
members  of  the  spiritual  community,  with  their  mutual 
hatred  and  envy,  that  human  life  attains  complexity 
and  breadth,  many-sidedness  and  variety.  It  may 
happen  in  course  of  time,  after  much  tossing  about 
in  different  directions,  that  the  soul  reaches  a  condition 
of  equilibrium ;  in  other  words,  the  spiritual  life  takes 
a  definite  middle  course,  from  which  it  cannot  be  di- 
verted by  the  sudden  revolt  of  any  of  its  powers,  each 
of  which  is  forcibly  kept  w'ithin  bounds.  This  is  the 
condition  of  "  moral  harmony,"  outwardly  so  beautiful, 
w'hich  the  Greek  philosophers — those  apostles  of  the 
beautiful — regarded  as  the  summit  of  human  perfec- 
tion. 

It  may  be  taken,  then,  as  a  general  principle,  that 
whenever  we  see  a  complex  whole  which  captivates  us 
by  its  many-sided  beauty,  we  see  the  result  of  a  struggle 
between  certain  primal  forces,  which  are  themselves 
simple  and  one-sided ;  and  it  is  just  this  one-sidedness 
of  the  elements,  each  of  which  strives  solely  for  its  own 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET  129 

end,  but  never  attains  it,  that  produces  the  complex 
unity,  the  established  harmony  of  the  whole. 

This  principle  applies  to  social  life,  with  all  its  many 
sides ;  and  not  least  to  its  intellectual  and  moral  aspects. 

In  the  early  history  of  any  epoch-making  idea  there 
have  aways  been  men  who  have  devoted  to  that  idea, 
and  to  it  alone,  all  their  powers,  both  physical  and 
spiritual.  Such  men  as  these  look  at  the  world  ex- 
clusively from  the  point  of  view  of  their  idea,  and 
wish  to  save  society  by  it  alone.  They  take  no  account 
of  all  the  other  forces  at  work  that  are  pulling  in 
other  directions ;  and  they  even  disregard  the  limits 
that  Nature  herself  sets  to  their  activities.  They 
refuse  to  compromise ;  and,  although  conflicting  forces 
and  natural  laws  do  not  bow  down  before  them,  and 
they  do  not  get  their  own  way,  yet  their  efforts  are  not 
wasted.  They  make  the  new  idea  a  primal  force,  which 
drives  the  current  of  life  in  its  own  particular  direction, 
as  other  forces  in  theirs ;  and  the  harmony  of  social 
life,  being  a  product  of  the  struggle  between  all  the 
forces,  is,  therefore,  bound  to  be  affected  more  or  less 
by  the  advent  of  this  new  force.  But  just  as  no  one 
force  ever  obtains  a  complete  and  absolute  victory, 
so  there  is  no  original  idea  that  can  hold  its  own  un- 
less it  is  carefully  guarded  by  its  adherents.  If,  as 
often  happens,  after  the  new  idea  has  produced  a  cer- 
tain effect,  its  adherents  become  "  broad-minded,"  ad- 
mit that  things  cannot  go  wholly  one  way,  and  acquiesce 
gladly  in  the  enforced  compromise  produced  by  the  con- 
flict of  forces :  then  they  may,  indeed,  rise  in  the  esti- 
9 


130  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

mation  of  the  masses,  on  whom  the  harmony  of  the 
community  depends  ;  but  at  the  same  time  their  idea  will 
cease  to  be  a  primal  force  in  its  own  right.  Its 
influence  will  accordingly  be  further  and  further 
diminished  by  the  action  of  other  forces,  old  and  new, 
in  their  constantly  watchful  and  internecine  struggle 
— a  struggle  in  which  our  idea  will  have  no  special 
body  of  adherents  to  guard  it  and  widen  the  sphere 
of  its  influence. 

There  are  thus  two  ways  of  doing  service  in  the 
cause  of  an  idea ;  and  the  difference  between  them  is 
that  which  in  ancient  days  distinguished  the  Priest 
from  the  Prophet. 

The  Prophet  is  essentially  a  one-sided  man.  A  cer- 
tain moral  idea  fills  his  whole  being,  masters  his  every 
feeling  and  sensation,  engrosses  his  whole  attention. 
He  can  only  see  the  world  through  the  mirror  of  his 
idea;  he  desires  nothing,  strives  for  nothing,  except 
to  make  every  phase  of  the  life  around  him  an  embodi- 
ment of  that  idea  in  its  perfect  form.  His  whole  life 
is  spent  in  fighting  for  this  ideal  with  all  his  strength ; 
for  its  sake  he  lays  waste  his  powers,  unsparing  of 
himself,  regardless  of  the  conditions  of  life  and  the 
demands  of  the  general  harmony.  His  gaze  is  fixed 
always  on  what  otigjit  to  be  in  accordance  with  his 
own  convictions ;  never  on  what  can  be  consistently 
with  the  general  condition  of  things  outside  himself. 
The  Prophet  is  thus  a  primal  force.  His  action  affects 
the  character  of  the  general  harmony,  while  he  him- 
self does  not  become  a  part  of  that  harmony,  but 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET  131 

remains  always  a  man  apart,  a  narrow-minded  ex- 
tremist, zealous  for  his  own  ideal,  and  intolerant  of 
every  other.  And  since  he  cannot  have  all  that  he 
would,  he  is  in  a  perpetual  state  of  anger  and  grief; 
he  remains  all  his  life  "  a  man  of  strife  and  a  man  of 
contention  to  the  whole  earth."  Not  only  this :  the 
other  members  of  society,  those  many-sided  dwarfs, 
creatures  of  the  general  harmony,  cry  out  after  him, 
"  The  Prophet  is  a  fool,  the  spiritual  man  is  mad  " ; 
and  they  look  with  lofty  contempt  on  his  narrowness 
and  extremeness.  They  do  not  see  that  they  themselves 
and  their  own  many-sided  lives  are  but  as  the  soil 
which  depends  for  its  fertility  on  these  narrow-minded 
giants. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  Priest.  He  appears  on  the 
scene  at  a  time  when  Prophecy  has  already  succeeded 
in  hewing  out  a  path  for  its  Idea ;  when  that  Idea  has 
already  had  a  certain  effect  on  the  trend  of  society, 
and  has  brought  about  a  new  harmony  or  balance  be- 
tween the  different  forces  at  work.  The  Priest  also 
fosters  the  Idea,  and  desires  to  perpetuate  it;  but  he 
is  not  of  the  race  of  giants.  He  has  not  the  strength 
to  fight  continually  against  necessity  and  actuality; 
his  tendency  is  rather  to  bow  to  the  one  and  come  to 
terms  with  the  other.  Instead  of  clinging  to  the  nar- 
rowness of  the  Prophet,  and  demanding  of  reality 
what  it  cannot  give,  he  broadens  his  outlook,  and  takes 
a  wider  view  of  the  relation  between  his  Idea  and  the 
facts  of  life.  Not  what  ought  to  be,  but  what  can  be, 
is  what  he  seeks.    His  watchword  is  not  the  Idea,  the 


132  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

whole  Idea,  and  nothing  but  the  Idea ;  he  accepts  the 
complex  "  harmony "  which  has  resulted  from  the 
conflict  of  that  Idea  with  other  forces.  His  battle  is 
no  longer  a  battle  against  actuality,  but  a  battle  in  the 
name  of  actuality  against  its  enemies.  The  Idea  of  the 
Priest  is  not,  therefore,  a  primal  force;  it  is  an  acci- 
dental complex  of  various  forces,  among  which  there 
is  no  essential  connection.  Their  temporary  union  is 
due  simply  to  the  fact  that  they  have  happened  to 
come  into  conflict  in  actual  life,  and  have  been  com- 
pelled to  compromise  and  join  hands.  The  living, 
absolute  Idea,  which  strove  to  make  itself  all-powerful, 
and  changed  the  external  form  of  life  while  remaining 
itself  unchanged — this  elemental  Idea  has  died  and 
passed  away  together  with  its  Prophets.  Nothing 
remains  but  its  effects — the  superficial  impress  that  it 
has  been  able  to  leave  on  the  complex  form  of  life. 
It  is  this  form  of  life,  already  outworn,  that  the  Priests 
strive  to  perpetuate,  for  the  sake  of  the  Prophetic 
impress  that  it  bears. 

Other  nations  have  at  various  times  had  their 
Prophets,  men  whose  life  was  the  life  of  an  em- 
bodied Idea;  who  had  their  effect,  smaller  or  greater, 
on  their  people's  history,  and  left  the  results  of  their 
work  in  charge  of  Priests  till  the  end  of  time.  But 
it  is  pre-eminently  among  the  ancient  Hebrews  that 
Prophecy  is  found,  not  as  an  accidental  or  temporary 
phenomenon,  but  continuously  through  many  genera- 
tions. Prophecy  is,  as  it  were,  the  hall-mark  of  the 
Hebrew  national  spirit. 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET  133 

The  fundamental  idea  of  the  Hebrew  Prophets  was 
the  universal  dominion  of  absolute  justice.  In  Heaven 
it  rules  through  the  eternally  Righteous,  "  who  holds 
in  His  right  hand  the  attribute  of  judgment,"  and 
righteously  judges  all  His  creatures;  and  on  earth 
through  man,  on  whom,  created  in  God's  image, 
lies  the  duty  of  cherishing  the  attribute  of  his  Maker, 
and  helping  Him,  to  the  best  of  his  meagre  power,  to 
guide  His  world  in  the  path  of  Righteousness.  This 
Idea,  with  all  its  religious  and  moral  corollaries,  was 
the  breath  of  life  to  the  Hebrew  Prophets.  It  was  their 
all  in  all,  beyond  which  there  was  nothing  of  any  im- 
portance. Righteousness  for  them  is  beauty,  it  is 
goodness,  wisdom,  truth:  without  it  all  these  are 
naught.  When  the  Prophet  saw  injustice,  either  on 
the  part  of  men  or  on  the  part  of  Providence,  he  did 
not  inquire  closely  into  its  causes,  nor  bend  the  knee 
to  necessity,  and  judge  the  evil-doers  leniently ;  nor 
again  did  he  give  himself  up  to  despair,  or  doubt  the 
strength  of  Righteousness,  or  the  possibility  of  its 
victory.  He  simply  complained,  pouring  out  his  soul 
in  words  of  fire;  then  went  his  way  again,  fighting 
for  his  ideal,  and  full  of  hope  that  in  time — perhaps 
even  "  at  the  end  of  time  " — Righteousness  would  be 
lord  over  all  the  earth.  "  Thou  art  Righteous,  O 
Lord," — this  the  Prophet  cannot  doubt,  although  his 
eyes  tell  him  that  "  the  way  of  the  wicked  prospereth  " : 
he  feels  it  as  a  moral  necessity  to  set  Righteousness  on 
the  throne,  and  this  feeling  is  strong  enough  to  con- 
quer the  evidence  of  his  eyes.    "  But  I  will  speak 


134  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

judgments  with  .thee  " :  this  is  the  fearless  challenge 
of  Righteousness  on  earth  to  Righteousness  in  Heaven. 
These  "judgments"  reHeve  his  pain;  and  he  returns 
to  his  life's  work,  and  lives  on  by  the  faith  that  is  in 
him. 

These  Prophets  of  Righteousness  transcended  in 
spirit  political  and  national  boundaries,  and  preached 
the  gospel  of  justice  and  charity  for  the  whole  human 
race.  Yet  they  remained  true  to  their  people  Israel; 
they,  too,  saw  in  it  the  chosen  people ;  and  from  their 
words  it  might  appear  that  Israel  is  their  whole  world. 
But  their  devotion  to  the  universal  ideal  had  its  effect 
on  their  national  feeling.  Their  nationalism  became 
a  kind  of  corollary  to  their  fundamental  Idea.  Firmly 
as  they  believed  in  the  victory  of  absolute  Righteous- 
ness, yet  the  fact  that  they  turn  their  gaze  time  after 
time  to  "  the  end  of  days  "  proves  that  they  knew — as 
by  a  whisper  from  the  "  spirit  of  holiness  "  within  them 
— how  great  and  how  arduous  was  the  work  that  man- 
kind must  do  before  .that  consummation  could  be 
reached.  They  knew,  also,  that  such  work  as  this 
could  not  be  done  by  scattered  individuals,  approaching 
it  sporadically,  each  man  for  himself,  at  different  times 
and  in  different  places ;  but  that  it  needed  a  whole 
community,  which  should  be  continuously,  throughout 
all  generations,  the  standard-bearer  of  the  force  of 
Righteousness  against  all  the  other  forces  that  rule 
the  world:  which  should  assume  of  its  own  freewill 
the  yoke  of  eternal  obedience  to  the  absolute  dominion 
of  a  single  Idea,  and  for  the  sake  of  that  Idea  should 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET  135 

wage  incessant  war  against  the  way  of  the  world. 
This  task,  grand  and  lofty,  indeed,  but  not  attractive 
or  highly-esteemed,  the  Prophets,  whose  habit  was 
to  see  their  innermost  desire  as  though  it  were  already 
realized  in  the  external  world,  saw  placed  on  the 
shoulders  of  their  own  small  nation,  because  they 
loved  it  so  well.  Their  national  ideal  was  not  "  a 
kingdom  of  Priests,"  but  "  would  that  all  the  people 
of  the  Lord  were  Prophets."  They  wished  the  whole 
people  to  be  a  primal  force,  a  force  making  for  Right- 
eousness, in  the  general  life  of  humanity,  just  as  they 
were  themselves  in  its  own  particular  national  life. 

But  this  double  Prophetic  idea,  at  once  universal 
and  national,  was  met  in  actual  life,  like  every  primal 
force,  by  other  forces,  which  hindered  its  progress, 
and  did  not  allow  it  free  development.  And  in  this 
case  also  the  result  of  the  conflict  was  to  weld  together 
the  efifects  of  all  these  forces  into  a  new,  complex  or- 
ganism ;  and  so  the  idea  of  the  Prophets  produced  the 
teaching  of  the  Priests. 

In  the  early  stages,  while  Prophecy  had  not  ceased 
altogether,  the  Prophets  were  accordingly  more  hostile 
to  the  Priests  than  to  the  general  body  of  the  people. 
The  authors  of  the  living  Idea,  which  they  had  drawn 
from  their  innermost  being,  and  by  which  they  be- 
lieved that  they  could  conquer  the  whole  world,  they 
could  not  be  content  with  seeing  its  image  stamped,  as 
it  were,  on  the  surface  of  an  organism  moulded  out  of 
many  elements,  and  so  fixed  and  stereotyped  forever. 
Nay,  more:  in  the  very  fact  that  their  Idea  had  thus 


136  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

become  a  part  of  the  social  organism,  they  saw  a  kind 
of  barrier  between  it  and  the  people.  But  the  opposi- 
tion between  the  Prophets  and  the  Priests  died  out 
gradually  with  the  decay  of  Prophecy:  and  then  the 
guidance  of  the  people  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
Priests  (though  they  were  not  always  called  by  that 
name),  as  sole  heirs  of  the  Prophetic  Idea.  The  inde- 
pendence of  this  Idea,  and  the  growth  of  its  special  in- 
fluence, were  at  an  end,  because  it  had  no  longer  a 
ijtandard-bearer  of  its  own. 

When,  therefore,  the  time  came  for  this  Idea — that 
is  to  say,  its  universal  element — to  cross  the  borders 
of  Palestine,  and  become  an  active  force  throughout 
the  world,  the  Priestly  Judaism  of  those  days  was 
unable  to  guide  it  aright,  and  to  preserve  it  in  its 
pristine  purity  amid  the  host  of  different  forces  with 
which  it  came  into  conflict.  Thus  it  was  only  for  a 
moment  that  it  remained  a  primal  force;  after  that 
its  influence  became  but  as  a  single  current,  mingling 
and  uniting  with  the  myriad  other  currents  in  the 
great  ocean  of  life.  And  since  the  number  of  alien 
influences  at  work  was  far  greater  here  than  it  had 
been  in  the  birthplace  of  the  Idea,  it  followed  that  its 
visible  effects  were  now  even  less  than  they  had  been 
before. 

If,  then,  the  Hebrew  Prophets  were  to  arise  from 
their  graves  to-day,  and  observe  the  results  of  their 
work  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  world, 
they  would  have  small  cause  for  satisfaction  or  paeans 
of  triumph.     Now,  after  a  long  experience  of  thou- 


PRIEST  AND  PROPHET  137 


sands  of  years,  they  would  recognize  still  more  strongly 
the  need  of  a  "  standard-bearer "  to  uphold  their 
universal  Idea;  and  for  this  reason  they  would  be 
strengthened  in  their  devotion  to  their  national  Idea. 
With  even  more  fervor  than  before  they  would  ex- 
claim, "  Would  that  all  the  people  of  the  Lord  were 
Prophets." 

We  do,  indeed,  occasionally  hear  some  such  excla- 
mation from  the  lips  of  Jewish  scholars  and  preachers 
in  Western  Europe,  who  uphold  the  doctrine  of  the 
"  mission  of  Israel."  But  it  follows  from  what  has 
been  said  that  the  Prophetic  mission  is  distinguished 
from  theirs  in  three  essentials. 

In  the  first  place,  the  mission  in  the  Prophetic  sense 
is  not  the  revelation  of  some  new  theoretical  truth, 
and  its  promulgation  throughout  the  world,  until  its 
universal  acceptance  brings  about  the  fulfilment  of 
the  mission.  The  ideal  of  the  Prophets  is  to  influence 
practical  life  in  the  direction  of  absolute  Righteous- 
ness— an  ideal  for  which  there  can  never  be  a  complete 
victory. 

Secondly,  this  influence,  being  practical  and  not 
theoretical,  demands,  as  a  necessary  condition  of  its 
possibility,  not  the  complete  dispersion  of  Israel  among 
the  nations,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  union  and  concen- 
tration, at  least  partial,  of  all  its  forces,  in  the  place 
where  it  will  be  possible  for  the  nation  to  direct  its 
life  in  accordance  with  its  own  character. 

Thirdly,  since  this  influence  can  never  hope  for  a 
complete  victory  over  the  other  influences  at  work  on 


138  PRIEST  AND  PROPHET 

human  society,  which  draw  it  in  other  directions,  it 
follows  that  there  can  be  no  end  either  to  the  mission 
or  to  those  to  whom  it  is  entrusted.  The  end  can 
come,  if  at  all,  only  when  men  cease  to  be  men,  and 
their  life  to  be  human  life:  in  that  great  day  of  the 
Jewish  dream,  when  "  the  righteous  sit  crowned  in 
glory,  and  drink  in  the  radiance  of  the  Divine 
Presence." 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 
(1904) 

Asceticism  may  be  defined  as  the  psychological  ten- 
dency, frequently  manifested  both  in  individuals  and 
in  whole  societies,  to  turn  from  the  pleasures  of  the 
world  with  hatred  and  contempt,  and  to  regard  every 
material  good  thing  of  life  as  something  evil  and 
degraded,  .to  be  avoided  by  him  who  cares  for  his  soul's 
health. 

Asceticism,  so  defined,  is  not  a  descriptive  term  for 
certain  outward  practices,  but  a  name  for  the  inner 
spring  of  conduct  which  prompts  those  practices ;  and 
thus  we  exclude  all  those  phenomena  which  have  an 
external  similarity  to  asceticism,  but  are  of  an  essen- 
tially dififerent  character.  A  man  may  renounce  pleas- 
ure, or  even  mortify  his  flesh  of  set  purpose,  and  yet 
not  deserve  the  name  of  ascetic,  because,  so  far  from 
despising  the  life  of  the  body,  he  actually  sets  store  by 
it,  and  only  refrains  from  pleasure  in  order  to  avoid 
danger  to  his  health,  or  physical  pain :  as  when  a  man 
avoids  wine  and  other  luxuries  by  order  of  his  doctor, 
for  the  sake  of  his  health ;  or  when,  in  anticipation  of  a 
long  and  difficult  journey,  a  man  reduces  his  allowance 
of  food  and  sleep,  so  as  to  be  able  to  bear  privation 
in  time  of  need  without  detriment  to  his  health  or 
undue  suffering;  and  so  forth.     Further,  even  when 


140  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

abstinence  and  self-denial  are  prompted  by  religious 
motives,  they  are  not  always  due  to  asceticism  in  the 
strict  sense.  In  almost  all  primitive  religions  fasting 
and  similar  "  afflictions  of  the  soul "  were  considered 
an  important  part  of  the  service  of  Grod,  and  the  priests 
were  accustomed,  when  performing  their  sacred  duties, 
"  to  cut  themselves  with  swords  and  knives  till  the 
blood  flowed."  But  there  is  here  no  asceticism,  because 
the  motive  is  not  hatred  of  the  body,  but  excessive 
love  of  the  body.  Primitive  man  had  a  rooted  belief 
that  his  god,  like  the  head  of  his  tribe,  could  be  pro- 
pitiated by  a  costly  offering  of  his  most  valuable  posses- 
sion, and  especially  of  flesh  and  fat  and  blood,  which 
are  the  dainties  most  palatable  to  the  savage.  Now, 
the  greater  the  value  of  the  offering  in  the  opinion  of 
the  bringer,  the  greater,  clearly,  would  be  his  confi- 
dence in  its  acceptability  to  the  god  as  a  proof  of  his 
true  service  and  fidelity.  It  was,  then,  by  this  process 
of  reasoning,  which  followed  inevitably  from  the  fun- 
damental belief  just  mentioned,  that  men  were  led  to 
sacrifice  even  their  offspring  to  their  gods  in  time  of 
trouble ;  and  the  same  reasoning  was  responsible  for 
the  unnatural  idea  of  sacrificing  part  of  a  man's  own 
body,  his  fat  and  blood,  as  the  most  precious  of  his 
possessions.  Thus  religion  produced,  together  with 
the  idea  of  sacrifices  in  general,  that  of  fasting  and 
mortification,  not  from  a  desire  to  turn  men  away  from 
the  flesh,  but  because  fasting  and  mortification  seemed 
to  be  the  greatest  sacrifice  of  which  flesh  and  blood 
was  capable,  and  therefore  the  most  certain  means  of 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  141 


propitiating  God  and  gaining  His  grace.  Hence  it  is 
that  in  all  ages  this  method  has  been  most  used  in  times 
of  acutest  distress,  when  it  was  necessary  "  to  cry 
mightily  unto  God,"  and  avert  His  anger  by  every 
possible  means. 

But  true  asceticism,  as  I  have  said,  is  that  which 
has  its  source  in  hatred  and  contempt  for  the  flesh.  It 
makes  war  on  the  flesh  not  for  the  sake  of  some  fur- 
ther end,  but  because  the  flesh  in  itself  is  unworthy 
and  despicable,  and  degrades  man,  who  is  the  flower 
of  creation.  For  asceticism  there  is  no  more  impor- 
tant concern  in  life  than  this  eternal  war  on  the  flesh, 
with  all  its  desires  and  its  pleasures ;  there  is  no  higher 
victory  for  man  than  the  killing  of  the  flesh,  the  ex- 
tinction of  its  desires,  and  the  refusal  of  its  pleasures. 

Isolated  instances  of  such  asceticism  are  found  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places ;  but  as  a  constant  phenome- 
non, as  a  sovereign  rule  of  life  governing  large  masses 
of  men  for  generation  after  generation,  we  meet  with 
it  first  of  all  in  India,  among  the  Buddhists,  and  much 
later  among  Christian  nations  also.  The  history  of 
European  culture,  especially  from  the  fourth  century 
till  the  end  of  the  Middle  Ages,  is  full  of  strange  and 
almost  incredible  stories,  which  show  with  abundant 
clearness  how  this  revolt  against  the  flesh,  this  desire 
to  wage  a  ruthless  war  of  extermination  on  the  flesh, 
can  gain  ascendancy  over  the  human  mind,  and  how 
this  revolt  can  spread,  like  an  epidemic,  from  place  to 
place,  from  man  to  man,  without  limit  to  its  growth. 

We  stand  aghast  at  this  phenomenon,  utterly  opposed 


142  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

as  it  is  to  those  general  principles  which  are  accepted 
in  our  day  as  laws  of  history.  The  whole  of  civiliza- 
tion, according  to  these  principles,  is  simply  a  result 
of  the  ineradicable  desire,  which  man  shares  with  the 
rest  of  the  animal  world,  .to  prolong  life,  to  lighten  its 
hardships,  to  make  it  smooth  and  pleasant.  The  cease- 
less warfare,  now  physical,  now  spiritual,  between  man 
and  man,  between  nation  and  nation,  has  its  real  cause 
in  the  desire  of  every  man  or  nation  to  add  to  the  num- 
ber of  his  and  its  possessions,  material  or  spiritual, 
so  as  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  fulness  and  com- 
pleteness of  life,  by  reducing  pain  to  the  minimum 
and  increasing  pleasure  to  the  maximum.  So  far  the 
laws  of  history.  And  now,  in  the  very  heart  of  this 
all-devouring  ocean  of  selfishness,  behold  one  solitary 
stream  making  its  lonely  way  against  the  flowing  tide. 
The  current  of  the  whole  world  is  set  towards  the 
broadening  of  life ;  every  living  thing  struggles  to 
drink  its  fill  from  every  spring  of  enjoyment  and  hap- 
piness :  and  here  are  these  mortals  deliberately  narrow- 
ing their  lives,  and  running  away  from  enjoyment  and 
natural  happiness  as  from  the  plague.  Whence  and 
in  what  way  can  a  man  get  this  unnatural  impulse,  so 
utterly  opposed  to  the  universal  law  of  life? 

This  is  no  new  problem,  and  I  am  not  here  concerned 
primarily  with  its  solution.  I  will  only  indicate  briefly 
the  solution  that  seems  to  me  most  satisfactory,  con- 
fining myself  to  what  is  necessary  to  my  present  pur- 
pose. 

Since  man  emerged  from  the  darkness  of  barbarism, 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  143 

and  became  a  civilized  being,  striving  after  self-knowl- 
edge and  knowledge  of  the  outside  world,  he  has  de- 
veloped two  fundamental  demands :  the  demand  for 
the  cause  and  the  demand  for  the  end.  Turn  where  he 
will,  he  meets  with  perplexing  phenomena,  which  force 
him  to  stop  and  ask  himself:  Whence  and  whither? 
What  is  the  cause  that  produced  these  things?  and 
what  is  the  end,  the  object,  of  their  existence?  But 
there  is  a  great  difference  between  these  two  demands. 
The  problem  of  the  cause  is  a  logical  one,  and  the  de- 
mand for  its  solution  is  therefore  absolute  and  common 
to  all  human  beings ;  whereas  the  problem  of  the  end 
is  a  moral  one,  and  the  demand  for  its  solution  is 
accordingly  relative,  varying  with  the  degree  of  moral 
development  in  the  individual.  The  laws  of  knowl- 
edge, which  govern  our  reason,  require  absolutely 
that  every  fact  shall  have  a  cause ;  anything  without 
a  precedent  cause  is  inconceivable.  We  might,  how- 
ever, conceive  the  whole  world  as  simply  the  inevitable 
result  of  certain  causes,  without  reference  to  any  par- 
ticular end,  were  it  not  that  our  moral  sense  is  up  in 
arms  against  this  conception,  and  a  world  without  any 
end  is  in  our  view  mere  vanity  and  emptiness,  as 
though  it  had  reeled  back  into  chaos.  And  the  demand 
for  an  end  is  especially  strong  in  the  case  of  the  indi- 
vidual's own  life.  For  the  most  part  life  is  a  hard  and 
bitter  thing,  full  of  troubles  and  sufferings  that  have  no 
compensation ;  and,  however  clearly  we  recognize  the 
causes,  natural  and  social,  that  produce  this  result,  we 
are  still  not  satisfied  or  relieved.  The  moral  sense  still 
complains  and  still  questions :  To  what  end  ? 


144  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

No  doubt  there  are  men  who  are  driven  to  despair 
by  their  failure  to  find  an  answer  to  this  question,  and 
bitterly  resolve  that  "  the  superiority  of  man  over  the 
beasts  is  nothing,"  and  that  the  whole  aim  and  object 
of  our  being  is  to  "  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we 
die."  For  man,  as  for  all  the  animals,  there  is  nothing 
more.  Have  you  had  the  luck  to  feast  well  at  life's 
table?  Then  rejoice  in  your  good  fortune,  and  die  in 
peace.  Have  you  failed  of  this  happiness  ?  Then  suffer 
in  silence.  There  is  no  right,  no  purpose,  no  end  in  the 
government  of  the  world ;  it  is  just  a  chain  of  cause 
and  effect. 

But  most  men  cannot  be  satisfied  with  this  philosophy 
of  despair,  which  robs  life  of  its  glamor.  Their  desire 
for  existence  will  not  let  them  find  comfort  for  to-day's 
troubles  in  the  thought  of  to-morrow's  death.  On  the 
contrary,  it  forces  them  to  seek  consolation  not  only 
against  the  sufferings  of  the  hfe  that  is  theirs  to-day, 
but  also  against  the  bitterness  of  the  death  that  to- 
morrow will  bring.  Not  finding  what  they  want  in 
the  real  world,  they  arrive  finally  at  the  idea  of  a 
world  beyond  nature,  and  transfer  the  centre  of  gravity 
of  their  Ego  from  the  body  to  the  soul.  This  flesh,  con- 
demned to  suffer  and  finally  to  rot,  is  but  a  temporary 
external  garment  of  the  real,  eternal  Ego,  that  spiritual 
essence  which  lives  independently  of  the  body,  and 
does  not  die  with  the  body ;  this  spiritual  self  alone  is 
the  real  man,  with  a  future  and  a  lofty  purpose  in 
a  world  where  all  is  good.  This  fleeting  life  in  the 
vale  of  tears,  bound  up  with  the  mortal  flesh,  is  noth- 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  14S 

ing  but  a  shadow,  and  like  a  shadow  it  will  pass,  with 
all  its  sufferings.  Now,  when  once  a  man  has  got  so 
far  as  to  divide  himself  into  two,  and  regard  his  body 
as  something  external,  which  is  not  himself,  he  has  no 
difficulty  in  going  further.  He  follows  out  this  idea 
till  he  regards  the  body  as  the  enemy  of  his  eternal 
Ego,  keeping  him  from  his  true  life  by  its  constant 
demands  and  numerous  ailments.  So  it  follows  that 
my  Ego  is  bound  to  fight  this  enemy,  to  subdue  it  and 
weaken  it  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  it  may  not  be  a 
hindrance  to  my  real  life,  and  may  not  drag  me  at  its 
heels  into  the  morass  of  its  own  degraded  existence, 
with  all  its  bestiality  and  its  utter  worthlessness. 

Since  this  philosophy  is  essentially  intended  as  a  con- 
solation for  those  who  are  harassed  by  life's  troubles, 
it  is  no  wonder  that,  as  these  troubles  grow,  the  hatred 
of  the  flesh  grows  also,  and  the  desire  to  destroy  it  root 
and  branch  becomes  more  strong.  It  is  a  matter  of 
everyday  experience  that  when  a  man  is  troubled  by 
pain  in  some  part  of  his  body  which  is  not  vital,  say 
a  tooth,  he  is  seized  with  violent  hatred  of  the  particu- 
lar member,  and  wants  to  have  his  revenge  on  it.  The 
same  thing  happens  in  regard  to  the  body  as  a  whole. 
Once  let  a  man  look  on  his  body  as  an  external  gar- 
ment, on  which  his  real  life  in  no  way  depends,  and  he 
will  come  to  hate  these  undesirable  earthy  wrappings 
in  proportion  as  they  cause  him  trouble.  Hence  we 
find  the  tendency  to  asceticism  and  mortification  of 
the  flesh  increasing  most  markedly  in  dark  and  un- 
happy periods,  when  misery  stalks  abroad,  and  men 
10 


146  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

suffer  without  knowing  how  to  find  rehef.  Then  it  is 
that  they  fall  savagely  on  their  tortured  flesh  as  the 
seat  of  all  the  pain. 

Thus  the  troubles  of  this  life  have  given  rise  to  two 
sharply  opposed  theories.  On  the  one  side  there  is 
the  materialist  view,  which  makes  the  flesh  supreme, 
and  sees  no  aim  for  human  life  but  to  enjoy  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  moment,  until  death  shall  come  and  put  a 
stop  to  the  silly  game.  On  the  other  side  we  have  the 
spiritual  theory,  which  aims  at  killing  the  flesh,  so 
that  the  spirit  may  be  freed  from  its  foe,  and  man  may 
be  brought  nearer  to  his  eternal  goal. 

But  Judaism  in  its  original  form  held  equally  aloof 
from  either  extreme,  and  solved  the  problem  of  life 
and  its  aim  in  quite  a  different  way. 

In  the  period  of  the  first  Temple  we  find  no  trace 
of  the  idea  that  man  is  divisible  into  body  and  soul. 
Man,  as  a  living  and  thinking  creature,  is  one  whole 
of  many  parts.  The  word  Nefesh  (translated  "  soul  ") 
includes  everything,  body  and  soul  and  all  the  life- 
processes  that  depend  on  them.  The  Nefesh,  that  is,  the 
individual  man,  lives  its  life  and  dies  its  death.  There 
is  no  question  of  survival.  And  yet  primitive  Judaism 
was  not  troubled  by  the  question  of  life  and  death,  and 
did  not  arrive  at  that  stage  of  utter  despair  which 
produced  among  other  nations  the  materialist  idea 
of  the  supremacy  of  the  flesh  and  the  filling  of  life's 
void  by  the  intoxication  of  the  senses.  Judaism  did 
not  turn  heavenwards,  and  create  in  Heaven  an  eternal 
habitation  of  souls.    It  found  "  eternal  life  "  on  earth, 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  147 

by  strengthening  the  social  f  eehng  in  the  individual,  by 
making  him  regard  himself  not  as  an  isolated  being, 
with  an  existence  bounded  by  birth  and  death,  but  as 
part  of  a  larger  whole,  as  a  limb  of  the  social  body. 
This  conception  shifts  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  Ego 
not  from  the  flesh  to  the  spirit,  but  from  the  individual 
to  the  community ;  and,  concurrently  with  this  shifting, 
the  problem  of  life  becomes  a  problem  not  of  individual 
but  of  social  life.  I  live  for  the  sake  of  the  perpetua- 
tion and  the  happiness  of  the  community  of  which  I 
am  a  member ;  I  die  to  make  room  for  new  individuals, 
who  will  mould  the  community  afresh  and  not  allow  it 
to  stagnate  and  remain  forever  in  one  position.  When 
the  individual  thus  values  the  community  as  his  own 
life,  and  strives  after  its  happiness  as  though  it  were 
his  individual  well-being,  he  finds  satisfaction,  and  no 
longer  feels  so  keenly  the  bitterness  of  his  individual 
existence,  because  he  sees  the  end  for  which  he  lives 
and  suffers.  But  this  can  only  be  so  when  the  life  of 
the  community  has  an  end  of  such  importance  as  to 
outweigh,  in  the  judgment  of  the  individual,  all  possi- 
ble hardships.  For  otherwise  the  old  question 
remains,  only  that  it  is  shifted  from  the  individual  to 
the  community.  I  bear  with  life  in  order  that  the  com- 
munity may  live :  but  why  does  the  community  live  ? 
What  value  has  its  existence,  that  I  should  bear  my 
sufferings  cheerfully  for  its  sake  ?  Thus  Judaism,  hav- 
ing shifted  the  centre  of  gravity  from  the  individual 
to  the  community,  was  forced  to  find  an  answer  to  the 
problem  of  the  communal  life.    It  had  to  find  for  that 


148  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

life  some  aim  of  sufficient  grandeur  and  importance 
to  uplift  the  individual,  and  to  give  him  satisfaction 
at  a  time  when  his  own  particular  life  was  unpleasant. 
So  it  was  that  Israel  as  a  community  became  "  a  king- 
dom of  priests  and  a  holy  nation,"  a  nation  conse- 
crated from  its  birth  to  the  service  of  setting  the  whole 
of  mankind  an  example  by  its  Law. 

Thus  Judaism  solved  the  problem  of  life,  and  had 
no  place  for  the  two  extreme  views.  Man  is  one  and 
indivisible ;  all  his  limbs,  his  feelings,  his  emotions, 
his  thoughts  make  up  a  single  whole.  And  his  life  is 
not  wasted,  because  he  is  an  Israelite,  a  member  of 
the  nation  which  exists  for  a  lofty  end.  Since,  further, 
the  community  is  only  the  sum  of  its  individual  mem- 
bers, it  follows  that  every  Israelite  is  entitled  to  re- 
gard himself  as  the  cause  of  his  people's  existence,  and 
to  believe  that  he  too  is  lifted  above  oblivion  by  his 
share  in  the  nation's  imperishable  life.  Hence  in  this 
early  period  of  Jewish  history  we  do  not  find  any  ten- 
dency to  real  asceticism,  that  is  to  say,  to  hatred  and 
annihilation  of  the  flesh.  That  tendency  can  only  arise 
when  life  can  find  no  aim  in  this  world,  and  has  to 
seek  its  aim  in  another.  There  were  no  doubt  Nazarites 
in  Israel  in  those  days,  who  observed  the  outward 
habits  of  the  ascetic;  but  all  this,  as  I  have  said,  was 
simply  part  and  parcel  of  the  practice  of  sacrifice. 
How  far  the  Nazarites  were  removed  from  hatred  of 
the  flesh  we  may  see  from  the  fact  that  even  Samson 
was  regarded  as  a  Nazarite. 

This  philosophy  of  life,  which  raises  the  individual 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  149 

above  all  feelings  of  self-love,  and  teaches  him  to  find 
the  aim  of  his  life  in  the  perpetuation  and  well-being 
of  the  community,  has  been  condemned  by  many  non- 
Jewish  scholars  as  being  too  materialistic,  and  has  been 
regarded  as  a  proof  of  the  inferiority  of  Judaism,  which 
does  not  promise  immortality  to  every  individual,  and 
a  reward  to  the  righteous  after  death,  as  other  religions 
do.  So  great  is  the  power  of  hatred  to  blind  the  eyes 
and  pervert  the  judgment ! 

But  a  change  came  after  the  destruction  of  the  first 
Temple,  when  the  national  disaster  weakened  the 
nation's  belief  in  its  future,  and  the  national  instinct 
could  no  longer  supply  a  basis  for  life.  Then,  indeed, 
Judaism  was  forced  to  seek  a  solution  for  the  problem 
of  life  in  the  dualism  which  distinguishes  between  body 
and  soul.  But  the  deep-rooted  partiality  to  the  body 
and  material  life  was  so  strong  that  even  the  new  theory 
could  not  transform  it  entirely.  Hence,  unlike  other 
nations,  the  Jews  of  that  period  did  not  eliminate  the 
body  even  from  the  future  life,  but  left  it  a  place  be- 
yond the  grave  by  their  belief  in  the  "  resurrection  of 
the  dead."  The  end  of  man's  life  was  now,  no  doubt, 
the  uplifting  of  the  spirit,  and  the  bringing  it  near  to 
"  the  God  of  spirits  " ;  but  the  body  was  regarded  not 
as  the  enemy  of  the  spirit,  but  as  its  helper  and  ally. 
The  body  was  associated  with  the  spirit  in  order  to 
serve  it,  and  enable  it  to  achieve  perfection  by  good  ac- 
tions. And  therefore,  even  in  this  period,  Judaism  did 
not  arrive  at  the  idea  of  the  annihilation  of  the  flesh.  It 
regarded  such  annihilation  not  as  righteousness,  but 


ISO  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

as  a  sin.  The  two  elements  in  man,  the  physical  and 
the  spiritual,  can  and  must  live  in  perfect  accord,  not 
as  enemies ;  and  this  accord  is  not  a  truce  between  two 
opposing  forces,  based  on  a  compromise  and  mutual 
accommodation,  but  a  real  inner  union.  The  spiritual 
element  is  to  penetrate  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
material  life,  to  purify  it  and  cleanse  it,  to  make  all  its 
complex  fulness  a  part  of  the  spiritual  life.  Such 
union  does  not  degrade  the  spirit,  but  uplifts  the  flesh, 
which  is  irradiated  by  the  spirit's  sanctity;  and  .their 
joint  life,  each  linked  with  and  completing  the  other, 
brings  man  to  his  true  goal. 

Talmudic  literature  is  full  of  utterances  which  con- 
firm the  view  here  put  forward.  It  is  sufficient  to 
mention,  by  way  of  example,  Hillel's  saying  about  the 
importance  of  the  body,^  and  the  repeated  condemna- 
tions of  those  who  mortify  the  flesh,  especially  the 
familiar  saying :  "  Every  man  will  have  to  give  an 
account  of  himself  for  every  good  thing  which  he 
would  have  liked  to  eat,  but  did  not."  ^ 

Even  the  two  non-confonnist  sects,  the  Sadducees 
and  the  Essenes,  which  might  seem  at  first  sight  to 
have  stood  for  the  two  extreme  views,  really  based 
themselves  on  Jewish  teaching,  and  developed  no  ex- 
travagant theories  about  the  life  of  the  individual.  The 
Sadducees  did  not  incline  towards  the  sovereignty 
of  the  flesh,  nor  the  Essenes  towards  its  annihilation. 
The  truth  is  that  the  Sadducees,  who  endeavored  in 

^  Vayikra  Rabba,  34. 

'Jerusalem  Talmud,  end  of  Kiddushin. 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  151 

all  things  .to  revive  the  older  Judaism,  held  to  the 
Scriptural  view  in  this  matter  as  in  others,  that  is,  that 
the  individual  has  only  his  life  on  earth,  and  eternal 
life  belongs  solely  to  the  nation  as  a  whole,  to  which 
the  individual  must  subordinate  his  existence.  The 
Essenes,  on  the  other  side,  starting  from  the  eternity 
of  the  individual  spirit  as  the  most  fundamental  of  all 
principles,  endeavored  to  hold  aloof  from  everything 
that  distracts  attention  from  the  spiritual  life.  But 
they  never  despised  or  hated  the  flesh ;  and  Philo  says 
of  them  that  "  they  avoided  luxuries,  because  they  saw 
in  them  injury  to  health  of  body  and  soid." 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  no  doubt,  Judaism  did  not 
escape  the  infection  of  alien  theories  based  on  hatred 
of  the  flesh ;  but  the  best  Jewish  thinkers,  such  as 
Maimonides,  tried  to  stem  the  tide  of  foreign  influence. 
They  remained  true  to  the  traditional  Jewish  stand- 
point, and  taught  the  people  to  honor  the  body,  to  set 
store  by  its  life  and  satisfy  its  legitimate  demands, 
not  to  set  body  and  spirit  at  odds.  It  was  only  after 
the  expulsion  from  Spain,  when  the  Jews  were  perse- 
cuted in  most  countries  of  the  Diaspora,  that  the  Cab- 
balists,  especially  those  of  Palestine,  succeeded  in  ob- 
scuring the  light,  and  won  many  converts  to  asceticism 
in  its  grimmest  form.  But  their  dominance  was  not 
of  long  duration ;  it  was  overthrown  by  a  movement 
from  within,  first  by  the  sect  of  Sabbatai  Zebi  and 
later  by  Hasidism.  The  ground  was  cut  from  under 
their  asceticism,  and  material  life  was  restored  to  its 
former  esteem  and  importance. 


152  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

And  yet  we  do  find  even  in  Jewish  history  traces 
of  these  two  extreme  views — the  sovereignty  of  the 
flesh  and  its  annihilation.  But  that  characteristic  ten- 
dency, which  we  have  already  noticed,  to  transfer  the 
centre  of  gravity  from  the  individual  to  the  national 
life,  is  evident  here  also  ;  and  so  the  Jews  applied  to  the 
national  life  those  ideas  which  other  nations  applied  to 
the  life  of  the  individual. 

In  the  very  earliest  times  there  was  in  Israel  a  con- 
siderable party  which  adopted  the  materialistic  view  of 
the  national  life.  The  whole  aim  of  this  party  was  to 
make  the  body  politic  dominant  above  all  other  inter- 
ests, to  win  for  the  Jewish  State  a  position  of  honor 
among  its  neighbors,  and  to  secure  it  against  external 
aggression.  They  neither  sought  nor  desired  any 
other  end  for  the  national  life.  This  party  was  that 
of  the  aristocrats,  the  entourage  of  the  king,  the  mili- 
tary leaders,  and  most  of  the  priests:  in  a  word,  all 
those  whose  private  lives  were  far  removed  from 
human  misery,  which  demands  consolation.  The 
spiritual  aspect  of  the  national  life  had  no  meaning  for 
them.  They  were  almost  always  ready  to  desert  the 
spiritual  heritage  of  the  nation,  "  to  serve  other  gods," 
if  only  they  thought  that  there  was  some  political  ad- 
vantage to  be  gained.  Against  this  political  material- 
ism the  Prophets  stood  forward  in  all  their  spiritual 
grandeur,  and  fought  it  incessantly;  until  at  last  it 
vanished  automatically  with  the  overthrow  of  the 
State.  But  certain  modern  historians  are  quite  wrong 
when  they  assert  that  the  Prophets  hated  the  State  as 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  153 

such,  and  desired  its  destruction,  because  they  regarded 
its  very  existence  as  essentially  inconsistent  with  that 
spiritual  life  which  was  their  aim.  This  political 
asceticism,  this  desire  for  the  annihilation  of  the  flesh 
of  the  national  organism  as  a  means  to  the  strengthen- 
ing of  its  spirit,  was  in  reality  quite  repugnant  to  the 
view  of  the  Prophets.  We  have  only  to  read  those 
passages  in  which  the  Prophets  rejoice  in  the  victories 
of  the  State — in  the  time  of  Sennacherib,  for  instance — 
or  bewail  its  defeats,  to  see  at  once  how  they  valued 
the  State,  and  how  essential  political  freedom  was,  in 
their  view,  to  the  advancement  of  the  very  ideals  for 
which  they  preached  and  fought.  But  at  the  same 
time  they  did  not  forget  that  only  the  spirit  can  exalt 
life,  whether  individual  or  national,  and  give  it  a 
meaning  and  an  aim.  Hence  they  demanded  emphati- 
cally that  the  aim  should  not  be  subordinated  to  the 
means,  that  the  flesh  should  not  be  made  sovereign 
over  the  spirit.  The  Prophets,  then,  simply  applied 
to  the  national  life  that  principle  which  Judaism  had 
established  for  the  life  of  the  individual :  the  unity  of 
flesh  and  spirit,  in  the  sense  which  I  have  explained. 
The  real  ascetic  view  was  applied  to  the  national  life 
only  in  the  time  of  the  second  Temple,  and  then  not 
by  the  Pharisees,^  but  by  the  Essenes.    So  far  as  the 

'[The  word  "Pharisee"  is  derived  from  the  root  parosh, 
which  means  "to  separate,"  and  is  therefore  usually  regarded 
as  meaning  a  man  "  separated  "  from  the  concerns  of  everyday 
life,  i.  e.,  a  sort  of  hermit  or  ascetic.  The  author  seems  to  ac- 
cept this  explanation.  Others,  however,  regard  the  Pharisees 
as  having  stood  for  national  separateness  ;  others,  again,  derive 


1S4  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

individual  was  concerned,  the  Essenes,  as  I  have  said, 
had  no  leaning  towards  hatred  of  the  flesh.  But  they 
did  adopt  that  attitude  as  regards  the  body  politic. 
These  spiritually-minded  men  saw  corruption  eating 
at  the  very  heart  of  the  Jewish  State ;  they  saw  its 
rulers,  as  in  the  time  of  the  first  Temple,  exalting 
the  flesh  and  disregarding  all  but  physical  force ;  they 
saw  the  best  minds  of  the  nation  spending  their 
strength  in  a  vain  effort  to  uplift  the  body  politic 
from  its  internal  decay,  and  once  more  to  breathe  the 
spirit  of  true  Judaism  into  this  corrupt  flesh,  now 
abandoned  as  a  prey  to  the  dogs.  Seeing  all  this,  they 
gave  way  to  despair,  turned  their  backs  on  political  life 
altogether,  and  fled  to  the  wilderness,  there  to  live  out 
their  individual  lives  in  holiness  and  purity,  far  from 
this  incurable  corruption.  And  in  this  lonely  existence, 
removed  from  society  and  its  turmoil,  their  hatred 
of  the  State  grew  stronger  and  stronger,  until  even  in 
its  last  moments,  when  it  was  hovering  betwixt  life 
and  death,  some  of  them  actually  did  not  conceal  their 
joy  at  its  impending  destruction. 

But  these  political  ascetics  had  no  great  influence 
over  the  popular  mind.  It  was  not  they,  but  another 
sect,  called  Pharisees,  although  they  had  no  vestige 
of  real  asceticism,^  who  were  the  teachers  and  guides 
of  the  people,  and  who  upheld  the  Jewish  view  which 

the  name  from  a  secondary  sense  of  the  same  root,  "to  explain, 
expound,"  and  make  the  Pharisees  the  "expounders  of  the 
Law."] 
*  [See  the  previous  foot-note.] 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  155 

was  handed  down  from  the  Prophets :  that  is,  the  com- 
bination of  flesh  and  spirit.    They  did  not  run  away 
from  life,  and  did  not  wish  to  demolish  the  State. 
On  the  contrary,  they  stood  at  their  post  in  the  very 
thick  of  life's  battle,  and  tried  with  all  their  might 
to  save  the  State  from  moral  decay,  and  to  mould 
it  according  to  the  spirit  of  Judaism.    They  knew  full 
well  that  spirit  without  flesh  is  but  an  unsubstantial 
shade,  and  that  the  spirit  of  Judaism  could  not  develop 
and  attain  its  end  without  a  political  body,  in  which 
it  could  find  concrete  expression.    For  this  reason  the 
Pharisees  were  always  fighting  a  twofold  battle:  on 
the  one  hand,  they  opposed  the  political  materialists 
within,  for  whom  the  State  was  only  a  body  without 
an  essential  spirit,  and,  on  the  other  side,  they  fought 
together  with  these  opponents  against  the  enemy  with- 
out, in  order  to  save  the  State  from  destruction.    Only 
at  the  very  last,  when  the  imminent  death  of  the  body 
politic  was  beyond  all  doubt,  did  the  root  difference  be- 
tween the  two  kinds  of  patriots,  who  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  necessarily  reveal  itself ;  and  then  the  separa- 
tion was  complete.    The  political  materialists,  for  whom 
the  existence  of  the  State  was  everything,  had  nothing 
to  live  for  after  the  political  catastrophe ;  and  so  they 
fought  desperately,  and  did  not  budge  until  they  fell 
dead    among   the    ruins    that    they    loved.      But    the 
Pharisees  remembered,  even  in  that  awful  moment, 
that  the  political  body  had  a  claim  on  their  affections 
only  because  of  the  national  spirit  which  found  expres- 
sion in  it,  and  needed  its  help.     Hence  they  never 


156  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

entertained  the  strange  idea  that  the  destruction  of  the 
State  involved  the  death  of  the  people,  and  that  life 
was  no  longer  worth  living.  On  the  contrary :  now, 
now  they  felt  it  absolutely  necessary  to  find  some  tem- 
porary means  of  preserving  the  nation  and  its  spirit 
even  without  a  State,  until  such  time  as  God  should 
have  mercy  on  His  people  and  restore  it  to  its  land 
and  freedom.  So  the  bond  was  broken :  the  political 
Zealots  remained  sword  in  hand  on  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem, while  the  Pharisees  took  the  scroll  of  the  Law 
and  went  to  Jabneh.^ 

And  the  work  of  the  Pharisees  bore  fruit.  They 
succeeded  in  creating  a  national  body  which  hung  in 
mid-air,  without  any  foundation  on  the  solid  earth, 
and  in  this  body  the  Hebrew  national  spirit  has  had  its 
abode  and  lived  its  life  for  two  thousand  years.  The 
organization  of  the  Ghetto,  the  foundations  of  which 
were  laid  in  the  generations  that  followed  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  is  a  thing  marvellous  and  quite 
unique.  It  was  based  on  the  idea  that  the  aim  of  life 
is  the  perfection  of  the  spirit,  but  that  the  spirit  needs 
a  body  to  serve  as  its  instrument.  The  Pharisees 
thought  at  that  time  that,  until  the  nation  could  again 
find  an  abode  for  its  spirit  in  a  single  complete  and 
free  political  body,  the  gap  must  be  filled  artificially 
by  the  concentration  of  that  spirit  in   a  number  of 

1  [Rabbi  Johanan  ben  Zakkai  obtained  permission  from  the 
victorious  Romans  to  retire  with  his  disciples  to  Jabneh,  where 
he  kept  alight  the  lamp  of  Jewish  study,  and  thus  secured  the 
continuance  of  Judaism  despite  the  overthrow  of  the  Jewish 
State.] 


FLESH  AND  SPIRIT  157 

small  and  scattered  social  bodies,  all  formed  in  its 
image,  all  living  one  form  of  life,  and  all  united, 
despite  their  local  separateness,  by  a  common  recog- 
nition of  their  original  unity  and  their  striving  after 
a  single  aim  and  perfect  union  in  the  future. 

But  this  artificial  building  stood  too  long.  It  was 
erected  only  to  serve  for  a  short  time,  in  the  days  when 
men  firmly  believed  that  to-day  or  to-morrow  Messiah 
would  come ;  but  at  last  its  foundations  decayed,  and 
its  walls  cracked  and  gaped  ever  more  and  more. 

Then  there  came  again  spiritually-minded  men,  who 
revived  the  political  asceticism  of  the  Essenes.  They 
saw  at  its  very  worst  the  scattered  and  enslaved  con- 
dition of  the  dispossessed  nation;  they  saw  no  hope 
of  a  return  to  the  land ;  they  saw,  too,  the  organization 
of  the  Ghetto,  in  which  there  was  at  least  some  shadow 
of  a  concrete  national  life,  breaking  up  before  their 
eyes.  Despair  took  hold  of  them,  and  made  them 
absolutely  deny  bodily  life  to  their  nation,  made  them 
regard  its  existence  as  purely  spiritual.  Israel,  they 
said,  is  a  spirit  without  a  body ;  the  spirit  is  not  only 
the  aim  of  Jewish  life,  it  is  the  whole  life;  the  flesh 
is  not  merely  something  subsidiary,  it  is  actually  a 
dangerous  enemy,  a  hindrance  to  the  development  of 
the  spirit  and  its  conquest  of  the  world. 

We  need  not  be  surprised  that  this  extreme  view 
produced  its  opposite,  as  extreme  views  always  do,  and 
that  we  have  seen  a  recrudescence  of  that  political 
materialism  which  confines  the  life  of  Israel  to  the 
body,  to  the  Jewish  State. 


IS8  FLESH  AND  SPIRIT 

This  phenomenon  is  still  recent,  and  has  not  yet 
reached  its  full  development.  But  past  experience 
justifies  the  belief  that  both  these  extreme  views,  hav- 
ing no  root  and  basis  in  the  heart  of  the  nation,  will 
disappear,  and  give  place  to  the  only  view  that  really 
has  its  source  in  Judaism,  the  view  of  the  Prophets  in 
the  days  of  the  first  State,  and  that  of  the  Pharisees 
in  the  days  of  the  second.  If,  as  we  hope,  the  future 
holds  for  Israel  yet  a  third  national  existence,  we  may 
believe  that  the  fundamental  principle  of  individual  as 
of  national  life  will  be  neither  the  sovereignty  of  the 
flesh  over  the  spirit,  nor  the  annihilation  of  the  flesh 
for  the  spirit's  sake,  but  the  uplifting  of  the  flesh  by 
the  spirit. 


MANY  INVENTIONS 
(1890) 

Lo,  this  only  have  I  found,  that  God  hath  made  man  upright; 
but  they  have  sought  out  many  inventions  (Eccl.  7  :  29).  Be 
not  righteous  over  much ;  neithermakethyself  over  wise  {id. 16). 

The  progress  of  human  behefs  and  opinions  offers 
an  instructive  subject  of  contemplation  to  one  who 
has  faith  in  the  sovereign  power  of  truth  and  reason. 
Let  him  consider  attentively  the  important  changes 
which  each  school  of  thought  has  undergone  in  the 
course  of  a  development  shaped  by  temporary  and  local 
influences;  let  him  think  of  the  disputes,  the  disquisi- 
tions, the  books  without  number,  by  which  each  school 
has  fondly  thought  to  demonstrate  the  correctness  of 
its  own  view,  and  to  crush  the  opposing  theory  once  for 
all,  but  which  have  almost  always  had  the  result  of 
widening  the  gulf  and  rousing  the  obstinate  conflict 
to  fresh  fury :  and  his  faith,  despite  himself,  will 
w^eaken.  He  will  begin  to  see  that  the  human  mind 
is  not  guided  by  reason  alone  in  pronouncing  on  any 
question  which  affects,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
the  material  or  moral  welfare  of  the  individual.  We 
think,  indeed,  that  we  are  seeking  the  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truth;  and  we  try  to  establish  our 
opinions,  for  ourselves  as  well  as  for  others,  bv 
reasoned   arguments.     But   in   fact   there  is   another 


i6o  MANY  INVENTIONS 

force  at  work  below  the  surface,  a  force  which  quietly 
assumes  control  of  the  mind's  movements,  and  directs 
them  whither  it  will,  giving  to  its  commands  the  sem- 
blance of  reason  and  truth.  This  all-powerful  force 
disguises  itself  in  innumerable  changes  of  shape  and 
form;  but  a  penetrating  eye  will  recognize  it,  beneath 
them  all,  as  the  desire  for  life  and  well-being.  This 
desire,  which  is  implanted  in  us  by  nature,  forces  every 
living  thing  to  pursue  at  all  times  that  which  brings 
life  and  pleasure,  and  to  shun  that  which  leads  to  de- 
struction or  pain.  For  every  living  thing  this  desire 
is  the  motive  and  the  goal  of  every  single  action.  In 
the  case  of  human  beings,  it  is  the  supreme  force 
which  influences,  recognized  or  unrecognized,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  not  only  their  actions  and 
their  schemes,  but  also  their  beliefs  and  their  opinions. 
For  man's  struggle  for  life  and  well-being  has  a  dis- 
tinct quality  of  its  own.  In  the  case  of  all  other 
living  things,  the  struggle  is  purely  external :  it  is  a 
struggle  against  hostile  natural  forces,  against  an 
environment  inimical  to  life  and  well-being.  But  man 
has  to  go  through  a  further,  internal  struggle,  a 
struggle  against  himself,  against  his  own  thoughts  and 
feelings,  which  interfere  more  or  less  with  his  mental 
peace  and  quiet,  and  thus  with  his  general  well-being. 
Every  mishap,  every  wound  which  he  gets  in  the 
external  struggle,  produces  feelings  of  pain  and  dis- 
tress, which  impair  his  vitality  for  some  time  after- 
wards ;  the  impression  left  by  every  painful  experience 
remains  long  after  its  cause  has  vanished:  and  these 


MANY  INVENTIONS  i6i 

memories  of  the  past  cause  him  painful  apprehensions 
as  to  the  future,  and  thus  embitter  his  existence  in  the 
present,  and  do  not  allow  him  to  enjoy  whole-heartedly 
even  such  little  fruit  as  he  has  been  able  to  pluck  from 
the  tree  of  life.  The  will-to-live  cannot  tolerate  such 
a  condition  of  things :  for  without  spiritual  rest  there 
is  no  life  and  no  well-being.  So  man  must  needs 
endeavor,  without  desiring  or  feeling  it,  to  transform 
in  thought  these  disquieting  experiences  and  accidents 
of  his  external  struggle ;  he  must  seek  explanations 
for  them  which  are  in  harmony  with  his  innermost 
desire,  and  can  bring  him  satisfaction. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  human  race,  when  man  had 
not  laid  hold  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  nor  searched 
deeply  into  the  mysteries  of  life  and  the  universe; 
when,  with  eyes  closed,  he  followed  his  natural  im- 
pulses, which  guided  spontaneously  his  physical  and 
spiritual  powers,  and  satisfied  his  simple  wants  without 
undue  exertion:  in  those  days  his  two  battles  were 
waged  by  two  different  forces — by  Reason  and  by 
Imagination ;  and  his  will-to-live  controlled  these  two 
forces,  and  made  them  work  for  his  well-being. 
Reason  discovered  the  chain  of  causation  in  things, 
and  thus  taught  him  how  to  obtain  his  desires  and 
remove  external  obstacles.  Imagination  fulfilled  its 
function  in  the  inner  life:  it  brought  him  comfort  in 
trouble,  and  the  strength  that  is  born  of  hope;  it  kept 
him  from  faltering,  and  prevented  a  despairing  flight 
from  the  battlefield.  Reason  was  the  general,  direct- 
ing his  forces  in  their  work ;  Imagination  was  the  priest 


i62  MANY  INVENTIONS 

who  accompanied  .the  army,  strengthening  the  weak 
and  the  wounded,  and  administering  sweet  comfort 
to  their  souls.  Whenever  Reason  was  unable  to  lead 
the  way  to  victory.  Imagination  could  lead  the  way 
to  rest,  by  refashioning  the  chain  of  cause  and  effect, 
and  could  shed  a  cheerful  light  on  every  circumstance 
and  every  event,  good  and  evil  alike.  When  the 
thunder  peals,  and  the  blinding  lightning-flashes  play, 
and  terror  lays  hold  on  all  living  things,  man,  too, 
leaves  his  work  in  field  or  forest,  and  hastens,  quak- 
ing with  fear,  to  hide  in  some  rocky  cavern  from,  the 
anger  of  a  hidden  God :  when  lo !  Imagination  comes 
to  his  aid,  and  shows  him  Jupiter  sitting  on  the  top 
of  Olympus,  and  hurling  his  lightnings  and  his 
thunders  upon  the  heads  of  his  enemies  who  have 
sinned  against  him.  So  man  calls  on  his  God,  appeases 
Him  with  an  offering  from  his  flock  or  herd  or  .the 
fruit  of  his  land,  and  returns  to  his  work  with  a 
tranquil  mind,  to  struggle  for  his  existence  against 
his  external  enemies,  under  the  generalship  of  Reason. 
Even  in  the  face  of  death,  when  he  sees  that  fell 
destroyer,  the  all-devouring,  all-consuming,  and  knows 
that  upon  him,  too,  must  come  the  end  of  all  flesh,  even 
then  his  desire  for  existence  does  not  desert  him ;  even 
then  he  does  not  succumb  to  despair  and  hatred  of  life. 
Imagination  has  power  to  open  the  gates  of  hell  be- 
fore him,  to  show  him  life  and  well-being  even  there, 
under  the  earth.  And  it  is  not  a  different  life,  of  a 
strange,  spiritual  kind,  that  he  sees  there,  but  just  a 
simple  human  life  of  body  and  soul,  wherein  every 


MANY  INVENTIONS  163 

man  lives  as  he  did  on  earth ;  wherein  the  small  remains 
small,  and  the  great  is  still  great;  wherein  the  master 
is  master,  and  the  slave  is  not  free.  This  marvellous 
faith,  traces  of  which  are  found  even  among  the 
cultured  nations  of  the  ancient  world,^  and  which 
scientific  research  has  discovered  to-day  among  various 
tribes  in  the  stage  of  childhood,  is  a  result  of  the  will-to- 
live,  and  dates  from  that  distant  age  when  man,  not 
yet  finding  his  natural  state  a  burden,  wished  for  noth- 
ing better  in  his  eternal  home.  And  this  faith  not  only 
freed  him  from  the  fear  of  death,  but  also  strengthened 
his  hands  in  the  battle  of  life,  because  he  always 
remembered  that  he  would  remain  forever  and  ever  in 
the  condition  in  which  death  overtook  him,  and  every 
upward  step  on  the  ladder  of  well-being  in  this  life 
would  mean  an  increase  of  his  happiness  after  death. 
Thus,  turn  where  we  will,  we  find  Reason  and  Im- 
agination, work  and  hope,  walking  hand-in-hand  in 
the  life  of  the  natural  man,  and  helping  each  other  in 
the  internal  as  in  the  external  struggle.  He  has  not 
yet  come  to  regard  hatred  of  life  as  righteousness  or 
as  wisdom ;  and  so  he  pursues  well-being  openly  and 
without  shame.  It  never  occurs  to  him  to  look  for 
any  object  in  life  except  this  single,  natural  object- 
to  be,  and  to  live  a  life  of  well-being.  For  this  object 
he  fights  unweariedly  with  all  his  might,  and  with  all 
the  means  which  Reason  can  devise  ;  while  Imagination 
stands  by  the  side  of  Reason,  ready  to  remove  every 
idea  or  feeling  that  might  disturb  its  work. 

*  Comp.  De  Coulanges,  La  citd  antique,  bk.  i. 


i64  MANY  INVENTIONS 

But  as  society  develops  and  grows  more  complex, 
new  wants  and  new  cares  are  born,  which  had  no  exist- 
ence in  earlier  ages.  The  path  of  life  is  strewn  with 
artificial  obstacles,  which  call  for  deliberation  and 
resource,  demand  knowledge  and  efficiency.  The 
struggle  for  existence  becomes  inevitably  a  hard  and 
bitter  war-in-peace ;  and  thousands  are  beaten  for 
one  who  wins.  In  this  period  the  more  intelligent  be- 
gin to  realize  that  all  is  not  right  with  the  world.  The 
simple  dreams  of  childhood  no  longer  satisfy  their 
developed  intellects.  Their  hope  for  well-being,  in 
life  or  after  death,  is  destroyed;  and  with  it  they  lose 
the  feeling  of  joy  in  life,  and  the  strength  of  will  to 
act.  Finally,  weary  of  toil  and  trouble,  despairing  of 
happiness,  they  turn  away  from  the  corpse-strewn  field 
of  battle  against  external  forces,  and  concentrate  their 
powers  on  their  inner  life,  on  the  efifort  to  find  rest  and 
comfort  for  themselves  and  their  like.  And  now  their 
world  becomes  a  chaos;  their  spiritual  equilibrium  is 
upset.  Imagination  and  Reason  invade  each  other's 
provinces,  and  every  man,  according  to  his  tempera- 
ment and  his  education,  lays  hold  of  the  one  or  the 
other,  or  passes  from  the  one  to  the  other,  finding  no 
satisfaction.  For  in  this  extremity  he  turns  to  both 
of  them  at  once,  seeking  an  answer  to  the  question 
which  overshadows  his  whole  being — the  question  of 
life  or  death,  good  or  evil ;  and  each  of  them  answers 
in  its  own  way.  Thus  they  produce  two  new  views 
on  the  nature  and  the  function  of  life.  These  views  also 
have  their  roots  in  the  desire  for  life  and  well-being: 


MANY  INVENTIONS  165 

but  it  is  a  stern  and  a  terrible  well-being  that  they 
bring,  and  a  life  how  different  from  that  healthy- 
natural  life  of  willing  and  acting  and  achieving ! 

The  one  view  soars  aloft  on  the  wings  of  Imagina- 
tion, up  above  the  boundaries  of  nature  and  human 
life,  into  the  upper  world  of  wonders,  the  spiritual 
and  eternal  world.  Dazzled  by  the  lightning  gleam  of 
such  a  world,  the  human  mind  turns  back  and  re- 
gards its  fortune  on  earth,  and  sighs,  "  Vanity  of  vani- 
ties, all  is  vanity !  "  There  is  no  good  and  no  evil,  no 
life  and  no  death,  in  .tliis  vale  of  tears;  all  is  but  an 
enforced  preparation  for  the  life  yonder,  but  a  series 
of  snares  and  pitfalls  and  hard  struggles,  out  of  which 
one  in  a  thousand  may  win  safely  through  to  happiness 
in  a  world  where  all  is  good.  This  view,  soaring  as 
it  does  beyond  the  bounds  of  nature,  leaves  Reason 
and  experience  behind;  it  neither  relies  on  them 
nor  fears  them,  but  simply  disregards  them.  Hence 
it  satisfies  those  who  can  wing  their  flight  freely  into 
the  upper  world. 

But  there  are  men  who  are  bound  by  the  chains  of 
Reason,  which  judges  only  by  what  the  eye  can  see ; 
and  for  such  men  there  is  no  aerial  soaring.  Seeking 
an  answer  to  life's  great  question,  they  look  right  and 
left,  and  find  no  help  save  in  cold  Reason,  with  its 
judgments  and  its  proofs,  which  promise  so  much  and 
give  so  little.  Yet  rest  they  must  have  at  all  costs; 
their  desire  for  life  will  not  be  stifled.  So  they  are 
forced  to  take  up  with  another  view,  a  philosophical 
view,  which  also  tells  them  that  "  all  is  vanity,"  but 


i66  MANY  INVENTIONS 

in  a  very  different  sense.  For  whereas  the  first  view 
denied  d-eath,  this  one  does  not  beHeve  in  life.  The 
first  view  sought  tangible  well-being  and  happiness, 
and  found  them  in  another  world;  the  second  seeks 
only  perfect  rest,  and  finds  it  by  crushing  out  every 
disturbing  feeling  and  desire — by  deciding,  like  the 
fox  in  the  old  fable,  that  the  unattainable  grapes  are 
sour.  All  human  pleasures  are  but  fleeting  shadows, 
baits  for  fools,  at  whose  stupidity  the  wise  can  laugh. 
Man  is  pure  Reason ;  his  happiness  lies  in  a  lonely  life 
of  contemplation,  beyond  the  hurtful  reach  of  accident. 

So  long  as  these  views  were  widely  held,  they  both 
turned  the  attention  of  men  entirely  away  from  the 
natural  life.  The  one  view,  according  to  which  hatred 
of  life  is  righteousness,  produced  hermits  and  anchor- 
ites, who  fled  from  the  turmoil  of  life  into  forests  and 
deserts,  and  spent  all  their  days  there  with  folded 
arms,  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  dreams  and  fancies ; 
the  second,  regarding  hatred  of  life  as  wisdom,  filled 
Greece  and  Rome  with  philoeophizlng  beggars, 
mouths  without  hands,  who  looked  on  their  surround- 
ings with  haughty  contempt,  hating  and  hated  by  all 
men.  To  the  first  class  belonged  that  ancient  saint 
of  whom  it  is  recorded  that  he  thus  rebuked  the  man 
who  brought  him  news  of  his  father's  death :  "  Silence, 
thou  blasphemer !  Man  is  immortal !  "  And  the  second 
class  is  represented  by  the  Greek  philosopher  who  re- 
ceived the  tidings  of  his  son's  death  calmly,  with  the 
remark,  "  Even  while  he  was  alive  I  knew  that  my 
son  was  not  immortal."  ^ 

*Comp.  Lecky,  European  Morals,  i,   p.  191. 


MANY  INVENTIONS  167 

The  course  of  human  thought  on  life  generally,  as 
applied  to  the  individual,  is  paralleled  by  that  of 
Hebrew  thought  on  the  life  of  the  Hebrew  nation; 
and  the  one  process  may  fitly  serve  to  illustrate  the 
other.  After  what  has  been  said,  a  brief  adumbration 
will  be  sufficient  to  indicate  my  meaning. 

In  the  early  days  of  Jewish  history,  when  the  people 
was  full  of  youthful  vigor,  and  had  had  no  experience 
of  misfortune,  the  national  will-to-live  was  healthy 
and  natural,  and  its  biddings  were  followed  spon- 
taneously, without  sophisticated  questionings.  Wisely 
and  skilfully  the  nation  fought  for  life  against  its 
external  enemies ;  and  at  home  the  Prophets  en- 
couraged and  incited  to  action,  by  painting  in  brilliant 
and  alluring  colors  that  national  happiness  which  was 
the  nation's  goal — a  happiness  not  to  be  sought  in 
Heaven  or  outside  nature,  but  very  near  to  each  man's 
heart;  a  happiness  to  be  sought  in  the  present,  to  be 
fought  for  every  day. 

But  those  good  old  times  were  not  of  long  dura- 
tion. East  and  west,  on  Israel's  borders,  mighty 
empires  grew  up;  his  tiny  land  was  a  stepping-stone 
on  their  way  to  foreign  conquests;  and  their  proud 
heel  trod  upon  the  poor,  small  nation  which  dwelt 
there  alone  in  the  midst  of  these  encircling  giants. 
Time  after  time  the  Jews  tried  to  throw  off  the  yoke, 
but  in  vain;  and  at  last  they  gave  up  the  struggle  in 
despair.  But  now,  when  they  could  no  longer  hope  to 
regain  life  and  liberty  by  their  own  strength,  they 
ceased  to  carry  on  the  external  struggle,  and  began 


i68  MANY  INVENTIONS 

to  think  about  the  internal,  spiritual  life;  to  find  a 
medicine  for  the  broken  heart  and  bind  up  the  wounds 
of  the  spirit.  The  national  hopes  of  the  earlier 
Prophetic  visions  unconsciously  assumed  a  new  form; 
they  became  etherealized,  supernatural,  outside  time. 
On  the  foundation  of  these  hopes  the  will-to-live  built 
a  castle  in  the  air,  which  reached  as  high  as  the 
heavens.  As  the  actual  position  of  the  nation  sunk 
lower  and  lower,  so  its  spirit  soared  heavenwards, 
leaving  the  concrete,  present  life  of  will  and  action 
for  a  visionary  life  in  the  bosom  of  a  boundless  future. 
The  nation  soon  became  a  slave  to  this  spiritual  disease, 
which  was  an  inevitable  outcome  of  its  condition  and 
its  history ;  it  could  no  longer  turn  back  and  look  down 
from  Heaven  upon  earth,  no  longer  feel  the  beauty  of 
life,  the  sweetness  of  freedom,  or  the  wretchedness 
of  its  own  condition.  It  understood,  as  by  a  natural 
intuition,  that  such  feelings  were  fraught  with  danger 
to  its  inward  peace,  perhaps  even  to  its  very  existence. 
For  centuries  this  idea  was  supreme  in  Israel — its 
comfort  in  misery,  its  happiness  in  misfortune.  But 
a  new  age  came,  when  the  spirit  of  philosophy  walked 
the  earth,  and  laid  waste  the  castles  of  Imagination 
throughout  the  world.  The  Jewish  castle,  too,  was  not 
spared ;  the  new  spirit  breathed  upon  it,  and  its  foun- 
dations shook.  Then  among  our  people  also  there 
arose  the  second  theory,  the  fox-and-grapes  philosophy. 
A  new  generation  has  a,risen  in  Israel,  which  believes 
no  more  than  its  fathers  did  in  the  possibility  of  achiev- 
ing the  national  well-being  by  natural  means,  but  has 


MANY  INVENTIONS  i6g 

abandoned,  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
even  that  behef  in  which  they  found  consolation.  But 
this  generation,  too,  is  imbued,  despite  itself,  with  the 
national  will-to-live,  which  cannot  be  crushed ;  and  so 
it  can  find  spiritual  peace  only  by  striving  with  all  its 
might  to  transform  this  troublesome  and  disquieting 
feeling,  by  endeavoring  to  believe,  or  even  to  prove, 
that  to  love  one's  own  nation  means  to  hate  mankind ; 
that  national  unity  is  a  piece  of  youthful  folly,  and  a 
disgrace  to  a  nation  grown  wise  with  years ;  that  the 
Hebrew  people  can  be — nay,  is  morally  bound  to 
be — happy  without  the  sour  grapes ;  that  a  kind  Provi- 
dence has  given  this  people  a  mission  different  from 
that  of  any  other  people,  a  spiritual,  intellectual  mission, 
which  demands  no  practical  service,  but  only  preachers 
and  divines. 

As  with  the  human  spirit  in  general,  so  with  the 
spirit  of  our  nation :  "  God  hath  made  them  aright, 
but  they  have  sought  out  many  inventions."  But  these 
inventions,  whether  they  take  the  guise  of  faith  or 
of  philosophy,  are  not  the  fruit  of  free  speculation  or 
of  the  search  after  truth  for  truth's  sake :  they  are 
spiritual  diseases,  with  which  the  human  race  (or  the 
nation)  has  become  infected  as  a  result  of  certain  his- 
torical causes.  The  diseases  are  different  in  character, 
but  alike  in  their  effects.  The  one  seeks  life  in  death, 
the  other  death  in  life ;  but  both  alike  prevent  the 
human  race  (or  the  nation)  from  attending  to  this 
world,  and  lead  it  away  from  the  plain,  natural  course 
which  lies  before  every  living  thing — to  seek  life  in 
life,  and  to  defend  its  existence  to  the  last  gasp. 


170  MANY  INVENTIONS 

What  does  Nature  say  to  these  two  extremes  of 
human  and  of  Jewish  thought?  To  the  one:  "  Be  not 
righteous  over  much  "  ;  and  to  the  other :  "  Make  not 
thyself  over  wise." 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  ^ 
(1891) 

The  opponents  of  the  Hoveve  Zion  in  the  Russian 
Jewish  press  think  that  they  have  need  of  no  more 
formidable  weapons  than  those  which  they  used  to 
employ  when  they  fought  the  battle  of  "  culture " 
against  the  "  obscurantists."  That  is  to  say,  instead 
of  examining  our  views  and  proving  us  in  the  wrong  by 
arguments  based  on  reason  and  facts,  they  think  that 
they  can  put  us  out  of  court  by  an  array  of  dis- 
tinguished names;  they  think  that  they  can  frighten 
us  by  pointing  out  how  widely  we  differ  from  the 
Jewish  thinkers  of  Western  Europe.  They  forget  that 
their  new  opponents  include  many  who  are  no  strangers 
to  Western  culture,  and  who  are  therefore  quite  aware 
that  even  professors  sometimes  sin  against  the  light, 
that  even  members  of  Academies  have  been  known  to 
cling  to  obsolete  beliefs. 

Thus,  these  opponents  of  ours  try  to  make  us  see, 
for  our  own  good,  to  what  a  pitch  of  spiritual  exalta- 

*  [This  essay,  published  in  Ha-Meliz  (1892),  was  a  reply  to  an 
article  entitled  "Eternal  Ideals,"  which  had  appeared  in  the 
Russian  Voschod,  from  the  pen  of  a  prominent  Jewish  writer. 
The  Voschod  was  a  Russian  Jewish  monthly,  since  defunct.  It 
will  be  observed  that  this  essay  was  written  many  years  before 
the  Dreyfus  case,  which  was  the  first  practical  revelation  of 
French  anti-Semitism.] 


172  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

tion  our  people  have  risen  in  France,  where  even  anti- 
Semitism  has  not  made  them  "  narrow."  Anti-Semit- 
ism !  To  the  French  Jews,  with  their  "  breadth  of 
view,"  it  is  as  though  it  did  not  exist :  they  go  securely 
and  calmly  on  their  way  towards  those  "  eternal  ideals  " 
which  their  predecessors,  the  Jewish  scholars  of  the 
last  generation,  set  before  them.  But  we,  the  small  of 
soul,  we  have  lost  the  way  and  turned  back.  Such,  at 
least,  is  the  opinion  of  our  opponents :  and  for  evidence 
they  bring  an  array  of  distinguished  names,  in  .the 
face  of  which  who  so  bold  as  to  doubt  that  they  are 
right? 

And  yet  I  for  one  am  bold  enough  to  doubt  the 
"  calmness  "  of  the  Jews  of  France  in  the  face  of  anti- 
Semitism  ;  to  doubt  even  their  "  spiritual  exaltation,'* 
and  the  value  of  those  "  eternal  ideals  "  which  they 
pursue.  And,  indeed,  I  find  ground  for  these  doubts 
in  the  very  words  of  those  "  distinguished "  people 
who  are  held  up  to  us  in  tcrrorem. 

Four  years  ago,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Societe  des 
Etudes  Juives  in  Paris,  Theodore  Reinach,  the  secretary 
of  the  society,  drew  the  attention  of  his  hearers  to  the 
danger  which  threatened  the  Jews  in  France  through 
the  growth  of  anti-Semitism.  "  Ah  !  "  he  cried,  "  anti- 
Semitism,  which  was  thought  dead  in  this  beautiful 
France  of  ours,  is  trying  to  raise  its  head.  A  single 
pamphleteer^  beat  his  drum,  and  now  he  is  surprised 
at  his  wonderful  success.  This  success — so  I  would 
fain  believe — is  only  temporary ;  but  for  all  that  it  is 

*  [Drumont.] 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  i73 

a  bad  sign."  M.  Reinach  thinks,  all  the  same,  that 
there  is  no  smoke  without  fire,  that  there  must  be  a 
grain  of  truth  in  the  charges  of  the  anti-Semites. 
"  Being,  as  we  are,  the  smallest  religious  sect ;  being, 
as  we  are,  strangers  newly  arrived  in  the  French 
household,  we  are  especially  subject  to  jealousy  and 
criticism."  Even  our  abilities  and  our  successes  in 
every  field  are  no  protection  for  us.  On^  the  con- 
trary, "  it  is  just  these  that  inflame  jealousy."  There 
is,  therefore,  but  one  remedy  for  us.  We  must  be 
very  circumspect  in  all  our  actions,  so  as  not  to  give 
an  opening  to  our  enemies.  "  Our  merchants  must 
all  be  honest,  our  rich  men  all  unassuming  and  charit- 
able, our  scholars  all  modest,  our  writers  all  disinter- 
ested patriots."  Then,  naturally,  such  angels  will 
please  even  the  French.^ 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  this  excellent  advice  of 
M.  Reinach  has  never  been  followed,  and  never  will 
be.  Since  then  things  have  not  become  better,  but 
the  reverse.  Instead  of  the  "  single  pamphleteer  "  we 
find  now  many  pamphleteers,  none  of  whom  need 
grumble,  for  "  beautiful  France  "  listens  to  them  with 
keen  pleasure,  takes  their  words  to  heart,  and  is  roused 
to  increased  jealousy  and  more  inflamed  hatred  every 
day.  Our  brethren  in  France  endeavor,  indeed,  to 
believe,  with  M.  Reinach,  that  "  this  success  is  only 
temporary."  But  there  are  not  many  who  feel,  like 
him,  and  not  all  those  who  so  feel  proclaim  it  as  he  did, 

*  Comp.  Actes  el  conferences  de  la  soci^t^  des  dtudes  juives, 
1887,  p.  cxxxii. 


174  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

that  this  belief  is  without  foundation,  but  is  only  what 
"  they  would  fain  believe,"  or,  rather,  what  they  must 
believe,  if  they  are  not  willing  to  give  up  in  despair  the 
struggle  of  a  hundred  years.  And  yet,  if  you  listen 
carefully  to  their  quavering  voices,  when  all  their 
talk  is  of  belief  and  hope,  you  will  hear  the  stifled 
sigh,  and  the  voice  of  a  secret  doubt,  which  would  make 
themselves  heard,  but  that  they  are  forced  back  and 
buried  under  a  heap  of  high-sounding  phrases. 

I  have  before  me  as  I  write  a  new  French  book,  in 
which  the  writers  whom  I  mentioned  at  the  outset  have 
found  the  beautiful  ideas  to  which  I  have  referred,  a 
book  called  La  Gerhe}  It  was  issued  last  year  by 
the  publisher  of  the  Archives  Israelites,  to  commemo- 
rate the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  that  publication.  Had 
such  a  jubilee  volume  been  published  twenty  years 
ago,  it  would  undoubtedly  have  recounted  with  paeans 
of  triumph  all  the  victories  of  the  "  Frenchmen  of  the 
Jewish  persuasion  "  during  these  fifty  years.  It  would 
have  described  exultantly  their  success,  their  advance 
in  every  sphere  of  life,  their  present  happiness  and 
honored  estate,  their  bright  hopes  for  the  future.  But 
in  fact  it  appears  now,  and  not  twenty  years  ago ;  and 
what  is  it  that  we  hear?  Without  offence  to  its 
authors  and  admirers  be  it  spoken:  we  hear  cries  of 
defeat,  not  paeans  of  triumph.  It  is  in  vain  that  we 
look  for  any  sign  of  genuine  rejoicing,  of  such 
"  exaltation  of  spirit "  as  would  be  proper  to  this 
jubilee  festival.     Through  the  whole  book,  from  be- 

^La  Gerbe:  Etudes,  souvenirs,  etc.,  Paris,  1890. 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  175 

ginning  to  end,  there  runs  an  undercurrent  of  grief, 
a  dark  thread  of  lamentation. 

First  of  all  let  us  hear  the  editor  himself,  the  central 
figure  of  the  celebration,  give  his  account  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  his  publication.  "  In  the  year  1840,"  he  tells 
us,  "  fifty  years  after  the  promulgation  of  the  principles 
of  1789,  the  Jews  possessed  rights  on  paper;  but  in 
practice  their  rights  were  non-existent.  "  And  then 
he  asks  in  a  parenthesis,  "  Do  they  exist  fully  even  in 
1890?"  After  this  question,  which  calls  for  no 
answer,  he  goes  on  to  recount  his  battles  against  preju- 
dice, and  tells  how  he  has  tried  unceasingly  to  spread 
the  great  principle  of  "  social  assimilation  (la  fusion 
sociale)  with  all  its  corollaries."  What  he  says 
amounts  to  this,  that  even  the  second  jubilee  after  the 
principles  of  '89  has  not  brought  the  desired  happi- 
ness; that  hatred  of  the  Jews  has  revived  even  in 
France,  despite  the  principles  of  '89,  and  despite  all 
the  battles  against  prejudice  and  all  efforts  to  promote 
assimilation.  And  so — our  respected  editor  promises 
to  continue  to  fight  and  strive. 

There  follow  a  large  number  of  articles,  almost  all 
written  by  distinguished  men,  and  almost  all,  what- 
ever their  subject,  working  round  as  it  were  auto- 
matically to  the  question  of  anti-Semitism.  Is  not  this 
a  sure  indication  that  this  accursed  question  fills  their 
whole  horizon,  so  that  they  cannot  turn  their  atten- 
tion from  it  even  for  a  moment,  but  it  must  needs 
force  itself  to  the  front,  of  whatever  subject  they  may 
treat? 


176  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

The  writers  in  La  Gerbe  are  certainly  men  of 
parts  and  distinction,  and  it  is  not  for  such  men  as  these 
to  turn  back  in  fright  at  the  sight  of  the  enemy — still 
less  to  let  others  see  that  they  are  afraid.  They  know 
how  to  control  themselves  and  make  a  show  of  look- 
ing at  all  these  things  from  above;  they  know  how  to 
comfort  themselves  and  their  readers  with  pleasant 
hopes  and  fair  promises,  which  read  sometimes  like 
little  prophecies.  One  of  the  writers  promises  us  on 
his  word  that  this  is  the  last  battle  between  the  Jews 
and  their  enemies,  and  it  will  end  in  complete  victory 
for  us,  to  be  followed  by  real  peace  for  all  time.  The 
great  Revolution  of  '89  is  always  on  their  tongues. 
They  refer  again  and  again  to  the  "  rights  of  man  " 
{les  droits  de  I'homme),  or,  as  some  put  it,  "  the  new 
Ten  Commandments  "  which  that  Revolution  promul- 
gated ;  and  each  time  they  express  the  hope — a  hope 
which  is  also  a  sort  of  prayer — that  the  French  people 
will  not  forever  forget  those  great  days,  that  the 
French  people  will  not,  cannot  turn  back,  that  the 
French  people  is  still,  as  of  old,  the  great,  the  en- 
lightened, the  glorious,  the  mighty  people,  and  so 
forth,  and  so  forth. 

Whether  these  prophecies  will  be  fulfilled  or  not  is 
a  question  with  which  we  are  not  here  concerned. 
But  in  the  meantime  it  requires  no  very  penetrating 
vision  to  discern  from  them,  and  from  the  pages  of 
La  Gerbe  generally,  the  true  spiritual  condition 
of  the  French  Jews  at  the  present  time.  There  is  here 
none  of  that  "  exaltation "   which   some   would   fain 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  177 

discover,  but  the  exact  opposite.  Their  condition  may 
be  justly  defined  as  spiritual  slavery  under  the  veil  of 
outward  freedom.  In  reality  they  accepted  this 
slavery  a  hundred  years  ago,  together  with  their 
"  rights " ;  but  it  is  only  in  these  evil  days  that  it 
stands  revealed  in  all  its  glory. 

The  writers  of  La  Gerbe  try,  for  instance,  to 
prove  to  us  and  to  our  enemies  that  the  fortunes  of 
the  Jews  in  every  country  are  inextricably  bound  up 
with  those  of  its  other  inhabitants,  or  even  with  those 
of  humanity  as  a  whole ;  that  the  troubles  of  the  Jews 
in  any  particular  country  are  not,  therefore,  peculiar 
to  them,  but  are  shared  by  all  the  other  inhabitants, 
or  even  by  humanity  as  a  whole;  and  that  for  this 
reason  ....  but  the  conclusion  is  self-evident. 
One  writer,  wishing  to  reassure  the  rich  Jews  of 
France,  whose  apprehensions  have  been  aroused  by 
the  anti-Semitic  movement,  tells  them  this  very  pleas- 
ing story.  In  1840,  during  the  February  Revolution,  a 
rumor  got  abroad  in  a  certain  Alsatian  city  that  the 
revolutionaries  intended  to  attack  and  loot  the  houses  of 
the  rich  Jews.  The  Jews  were  very  much  perturbed, 
and  hastened  to  seek  the  protection  of  the  commander 
of  the  garrison  which  was  permanently  quartered  in  the 
city.  He,  however,  refused  to  protect  them,  unless 
the  National  Guard  would  assist  him.  To  the  com- 
mander of  the  National  Guard,  therefore,  they 
addressed  themselves,  only  to  be  met  with  con- 
temptuous jeers  from  men  who  did  not  see  any  harm 
in  the  looting  of  a  few  Jewish  houses.     So  the  Jews 


178  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

returned  home  in  fear  and  trembling.  But  on  .the 
following  day  it  became  known  that  the  revolutionaries 
had  designs  on  all  men  of  property,  without  distinction 
of  creed,  and  were  going  to  include  the  houses  of  rich 
Christians  in  their  round  of  visits.  At  once  both  the 
permanent  garrison  and  the  National  Guard  appeared 
in  the  streets,  and  "  the  Jewish  question  was  settled  " 
— so  our  narrator  concludes,  with  a  smile  of  satisfac- 
tion :  adding  that  he  thinks  it  unnecessary  "  to  ex- 
patiate on  the  lofty  moral  of  this  story."  In  truth,  we 
can  find  a  lofty  moral  in  this  story,  from  our  own 
point  of  view.  But  shall  we  really  find  the  "  moral " 
which  our  narrator  wishes  to  draw  ?  At  any  rate,  his 
moral  is  not  exactly  "  lofty." 

This  trick  of  exciting  sympathy  with  the  Jews  on 
the  ground  that  it  will  benefit  other  people  is  very 
familiar  to  us  here  also.  Our  Russian  Jewish  writers, 
from  the  time  of  Orshansky  to  the  present  day,  are 
never  weary  of  seeking  arguments  to  prove  that  the 
Jews  are  a  milch  cow,  which  must  be  treated  gently  for 
the  sake  of  its  milk.  Naturally,  our  French  savants  do 
not  condescend  to  use  this  ugly  metaphor.  They  wrap 
up  the  idea  in  a  nice  "  ideal "  form.  But  when  all  is 
said,  the  idea  is  the  same  there  as  here ;  and  a  terrible 
idea  it  is,  sufificient  in  itself  to  show  how  far  even 
Western  Jews  are  from  being  free  men  at  heart. 
Picture  the  situation  to  yourself.  Surrounded  by 
armed  bandits,  I  cry  out  "  Help !  Help !  Danger !  "  Is 
not  every  man  bound  to  hasten  to  my  help?  Is  it 
not  a  fearful,  an  indelible  disgrace,  that  I  am  forced 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  179 

to  prove  first  of  all  that  my  danger  affects  other  people, 
affects  the  whole  human  race?  As  though  my  blood 
were  not  good  enough,  unless  it  be  mingled  with 
the  blood  of  others !  As  though  the  human  race  were 
something  apart,  in  which  I  have  no  share,  and  not 
simply  a  collective  name  for  its  individual  members, 
of  whom  I  am  one! 

This  slavery  becomes  more  and  more  apparent,  when 
the  writers  in  La  Gerbe  come  to  deal  with  the 
internal  affairs  of  Judaism.  Valiantly  they  champion 
the  cause  of  our  religion  against  its  rivals,  knowing 
as  they  do  that  this  is  permitted  in  France,  where 
neither  the  Government  nor  the  people  cares  very  much 
about  such  discussions.  But  when  they  have  to  dis- 
close the  national  connection  between  the  Jews  of 
France  and  other  Jews,  or  between  them  and  their 
ancestral  land,  a  connection  in  which  it  is  possible  to 
find  something  inconsistent  to  a  certain  extent  with 
the  extreme  and  zealot  patriotism  which  is  in  vogue 
in  France,  then  we  discover  once  more  their  moral 
slavery — a  spiritual  yoke  which  throttles  them,  and 
reduces  them  to  a  condition  of  undisguised  embarrass- 
ment. 

One  of  the  contributors,  the  distinguished  philoso- 
pher Adolphe  Franck,  expresses  the  opinion  that  every 
Jew,  without  distinction  of  nationality,  who  enjoys  the 
fruits  of  emancipation  in  any  country,  is  bound  to  be 
grateful,  first  and  foremost,  to  the  Frenchmen  of  the 
Revolution,  and  must  therefore  regard  France  as  his 
first  fatherland,  the  second,  being  his  actual  birthplace. 


i8o  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

And  here  our  philosopher  finds  it  his  duty  suddenly 
to  add:  "Jerusalem  is  [for  the  Jew]  nothing  more 
than  the  birthplace  of  his  memories  and  his  faith.  He 
may  gfive  it  a  place  in  his  religious  service ;  but  he  him- 
self belongs  to  the  land  of  his  birth."  This  way  of 
regarding  Jerusalem  is  a  very  trite  commonplace, 
which  our  Western  thinkers  grind  out  again  and  again 
in  various  forms.  Not  long  ago  another  philosopher, 
a  German  Jew,  published  a  new  volume,  which  contains 
a  scientific  article  on  the  Book  of  Lamentations.  Now, 
a  scientific  article  has  no  concern  with  questions  of 
practical  conduct;  and  yet  the  author  finds  it  neces- 
sary to  touch  in  conclusion  on  the  practical  question, 
whether  at  the  present  day  we  have  a  right  to  read 
this  book  in  our  synagogues.  He  answers  in  the 
affirmative,  on  the  ground  that  the  Christians  too  read 
it  in  their  churches  three  days  before  Easter.  "  If 
we  are  asked,  '  What  is  Zion  to  you,  and  what  are  you 
to  Zion  ? '  we  reply  calmly,  '  Zion  is  the  innermost 
kernel  of  the  inner  consciousness  of  modern 
nations. '  "  ^  This  answer  is  not  perhaps  so  clear  as 
it  might  be,  even  in  the  original ;  but  the  writer's  ob- 
ject is  perfectly  clear.  We  have,  therefore,  no  right 
to  be  angry  if  our  French  philosopher  also  adopts  this 
view.  But  when  we  read  the  whole  article  in  La 
Gerhe,  and  find  the  author  concluding  that  the  Jews 
have  a  special  "  mission,"  which  they  received  in 
Jerusalem,  which  they  have  not  yet  completely  ful- 

*Steinthal,  Zu  Bibel  und  Religionsphilosophie  (Berlin,  1890), 
P-33- 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  i8i 

filled,  and  for  the  sake  of  which  they  live,  and  must 
live  till  they  do  fulfil  it  completely,  then  we  shall  have 
a  serious  question  to  put.  The  duty  of  gratitude,  we 
argue,  is  so  important  in  our  author's  view,  that  he 
would  have  every  Jew  put  France  before  the  country 
of  his  birth — France,  which  was  nothing  more  than 
the  cause  of  our  obtaining  external  rights,  which  we 
might  have  obtained  without  her,  if  only  we  had  de- 
serted our  "  mission."  That  being  so,  does  it  not 
follow  a  fortiori  that  Jerusalem,  which  gave  us  this 
very  "  mission,"  the  cause  and  object  of  our  life,  has 
a  claim  on  our  gratitude  prior  even  to  that  of  France? 
Even  so  great  a  philosopher  as  our  author  could  not, 
I  think,  find  a  logical  flaw  in  this  argument:  and  yet 
he  could  write  as  he  has  done.  Is  not  this  moral 
slavery  ? 

Another  thinker — a  man  who  bears  all  the  troubles 
of  French  Jewry  on  his  shoulders,  and  is  withal  an 
active  participator  in  work  for  the  good  of  the  Jews 
as  a  whole — recounts  the  good  services  rendered  by 
the  journal  which  is  celebrating  its  jubilee;  and  one 
of  them  is  this,  that  it  has  helped  to  strengthen  the 
bond  between  the  Jews  in  France  and  those  in  other 
countries.  But  as  he  wrote  these  words,  the  recollec- 
tion of  "beautiful  France,"  and  of  the  anti-Semitism 
which  prevails  there,  must  have  crossed  his  mind ;  for 
he  pauses  to  justify  the  slip  of  the  pen  by  which  he,  a 
Frenchman,  could  welcome  a  strengthening  of  the 
bond  between  the  Jewish  community  in  France  and 
Jewish  communities  elsewhere.    He  tries  to  show  that 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 


though  the  French  Jews  are  well  known  for  the 
thoroughness  of  their  patriotism  and  their  devotion 
to  their  country,  yet  it  is  no  breach  of  duty  on  their 
part  to  sympathize  with  their  brother  Jews,  who  are 
still  subject  to  disabilities  in  other  countries,  or  to 
rejoice  with  those  of  them  whose  position  improves. 
For  my  part,  I  have  sufficient  confidence  in  this  dis- 
tinguished man,  and  in  his  whole-hearted  devotion  to 
his  people,  the  Jews,  to  believe  that,  even  if  it  were 
proved  to  him  beyond  all  doubt  that  French  patriotism 
is  inconsistent  with  affection  for  his  flesh  and  blood 
in  other  countries,  he  would  still  feel  that  affection 
for  them  secretly,  in  the  depths  of  his  being ;  that  even 
if  all  the  Jews  were  blessed  with  full  emancipation, 
and  there  were  no  longer  any  room  for  *^  sympathy  " 
with  these  and  "  rejoicing  "  with  those,  he  would  still 
desire  to  maintain  permanently  his  connection  with 
the  whole  body,  and  to  take  part  in  all  their  interests. 
But  if  this  be  so,  what  are  all  these  excuses,  what  is 
this  constraint  which  he  pleads,  if  not  moral  slavery? 

But  this  moral  slavery  is  only  half  the  price  which 
Western  Jews  have  paid  for  their  emancipation. 
Beneath  the  cloak  of  their  political  freedom  there  lies 
another,  perhaps  a  harder,  form  of  slavery — intellectual 
slavery;  and  this,  too,  has  left  its  mark  on  the  book 
which  we  are  considering. 

Having  agreed,  for  the  sake  of  emancipation,  to 
deny  the  existence  of  the  Jews  as  a  people,  and  regard 
Judaism  simply  and  solely  as  a  religion.  Western  Jews 
have  thereby  pledged  themselves  and  their  posterity 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  183 

to  guard  with  the  utmost  care  the  religious  unity  of 
Israel.     But  emancipation  demanded  certain  practical 
changes  in  religious  matters ;  and  not  everybody  could 
make  this   sacrifice.     Hence  people   "  of  the  Jewish 
persuasion  "  have  split  into  various  sects ;  the  unity 
of  the  religion,  on   its  practical   side,   has  vanished. 
There    remains,    then,    no    other   bond   than    that    of 
religion  on  its  theoretical  side — that  is  to  say,  certain 
abstract  beliefs  which  are  held  by  all  Jews.    This  bond, 
apart  from  the  inherent  weakness  which  it  has  in  com- 
mon with  every  spiritual  conception  that  is  not  crystal- 
lized into  practice,  has  grown  still  weaker  of  recent 
years,  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  feeble  every  day. 
Scientific  development  has  shaken  the  foundations  of 
every  faith,  and  the  Jewish  faith  has  not  escaped:  so 
much    so   that    even    the    editor    of    La    Gerbe    con- 
fesses, with  a  sigh,  that  "  the  scientific  heresy  which 
bears  the  name  of  Darwin  "  is  gaining  ground,  and  it 
is  only  from  a  feeling  of  twhlcsse  oblige  that  he  still 
continues  to  combat  it.     What,  then,  are  those  Jews 
to   do   who   have   nothing   left   but   this    theoretical 
religion,  which  is  itself  losing  its  hold  on  them?    Are 
they  to  give  up  Judaism  altogether,  and  become  com- 
pletely assimilated  to  their  surroundings?     A  few  of 
them  have  done  this  :  but  why  should  they  not  all  adopt 
the  same  course?    Why  do  most  of  them  feel  that  they 
cannot?    Where  is  the  chain  to  which  they  can  point 
as  that  which  holds  them  fast  to  Judaism,  and  does 
not   allow    them   to   be   free?      Is    it   the    instinctive 
national  feeling  which  they  have  inherited,  which  is 


1 84  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

independent  of  religious  beliefs  or  practices?  Away 
with  the  suggestion !  Did  they  not  give  up  this  feel- 
ing a  hundred  years  ago,  in  exchange  for  emancipa- 
tion? Yet  the  fact  remains  that  it  is  not  in  their 
power  to  uproot  this  feeling.  Try  as  they  will  to 
conceal  it,  seek  as  they  will  for  subterfuges  to  deceive 
the  world  and  themselves,  it  lives  none  the  less ; 
resent  it  as  they  will,  it  is  a  force  at  the  centre  of  their 
being.  But  this  answer,  though  it  satisfies  us,  does  not 
satisfy  them.  They  have  publicly  renounced  their 
Jewish  nationality,  and  they  cannot  go  back  on  their 
words ;  they  cannot  confess  that  they  have  sold  that 
which  was  not  theirs  to  sell.  But  this  being  so,  how 
can  they  justify  their  obstinate  clinging  to  the  name 
of  Jew — a  name  which  brings  them  neither  honor  nor 
profit — for  the  sake  of  certain  theoretical  beliefs  which 
they  no  longer  hold,  or  which,  if  they  do  really  and 
sincerely  maintain  them,  they  might  equally  hold 
without  this  special  name,  as  every  non-Jewish  Deist 
has  done? 

For  a  long  time  this  question  has  been  constantly 
troubling  the  Jewish  thinkers  of  Western  Europe ;  and 
it  is  this  question  which  drove  them,  in  the  last  gen- 
eration, to  propound  that  new,  strange  gospel  to  which 
they  cling  so  tenaciously  to  this  very  day — I  mean  that 
famous  gospel  of  "  the  mission  of  Israel  among  the 
nations."  This  theory  is  based  on  an  antiquated  idea, 
which  is  at  variance  with  all  the  principles  of  modern 
science :  as  though  every  nation  had  been  created  from 
the  first  for  some  particular  purpose,  and  so  had  a 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  185 

"  mission  "  which  it  must  fulfil,  living  on  against  its 
will  until  its  Heaven-sent  task  is  done.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, the  Greeks  were  created  to  polish  and  perfect 
external  beauty ;  the  Romans  to  exalt  and  extol  physical 
force/  On  this  hypothesis,  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  an 
answer  to  our  own  question — an  answer  not  incon- 
sistent, on  the  one  hand,  with  emancipation,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  with  the  unity  of  Judaism,  The 
answer  is  this :  Israel  as  a  people  is  dead ;  but  the 
Jewish  Church  still  lives,  and  must  live,  because  the 
mission  of  Israel  is  not  completely  fulfilled,  so  long  as 
absolute  monotheism,  vdth  all  its  consequences,  has 
not  conquered  the  whole  world.  Till  that  victory  is 
achieved,  Israel  must  live  in  spite  of  itself,  must  bear 
and  sufifer  and  fight :  to  this  end  it  was  created — "  to 
know  God  and  to  bring  others  to  that  knowledge." ' 
If,  then,  we  wish  really  to  fulfil  our  function,  is  it  not 
our  duty  to  be  God's  apostles,  to  consecrate  all  our 
strength  to  the  diffusion  of  that  knowledge  for  the 
sake  of  which  we  live  ? 

"  Heaven  forbid !  "  answer  our  "  missionists  " — and 
their  attitude  needs  no  explanation — "  it  is  not  for  us 
to  hasten  on  the  end.  God  has  entrusted  the  truth  to 
our  keeping;  but  he  has  not  imposed  on  us  the  task 
of  spreading  the  truth." ' 

How,  then,  shall  we  arrive  ultimately  at  the  fulfil- 
ment of  our  mission  ? 

*Munk,  Palestine  (Paris,  1845),  p.  99. 
*  Munk,  ibid.  ;  La  Gerbe,  p.  7. 
'  La  Gerbe,  p.  12. 


1 86  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

Munk  answers  thus :  "  Our  mission  advances  cease- 
lessly towards  its  fulfilment  through  the  progress  of 
religious  ideas."''  And  since  our  Scriptures  are, 
according"  to  the  "  missionists,"  the  foundation  and 
cause  of  this  prog'ress,  they  give  us  the  credit  of  it,  as 
though  we  ourselves  were  doing  our  duty  on  behalf 
of  religious  progress.  It  is  for  this  reason,  and  for 
this  reason  alone,  that  we  must  remain  loyal  to  our 
standard  until  the  very  end. 

In  itself,  therefore,  our  mission  is  an  easy  and  a  com- 
fortable one.  At  least  there  is  nothing  disgraceful  in 
being  the  teachers  of  the  whole  world,  in  regarding 
the  whole  human  race,  to  the  end  of  time,  as  pupils 
who  slake  their  thirst  at  the  fountain  of  our  inspira- 
tion :  more  especially  when  this  honorable  task  of  ours 
involves  no  labor  or  worry  on  our  part.  We  are  like 
the  Israelites  at  the  Red  Sea:  the  progress  which 
emanates  from  the  Scriptures  is  to  fight  for  our  mission, 
while  we  look  on  and  rejoice.  Now,  this  would  be  very 
well  indeed,  if  the  pupils  on  their  side  were  amenable 
and  docile,  and  paid  the  proper  respect  to  their  teacher. 
But  in  fact  they  are  impertinent  fellows,  these  pupils. 
They  kick  their  teacher:  they  heap  curses  on  him: 
they  are  forever  besmirching  his  name,  until  his  life 
becomes  a  positive  burden  to  him.  And  so  we  are  left 
face  to  face  with  the  same  question.  We  are  no  longer 
doing  anything  useful  towards  the  fulfilment  of  our 
mission:  the  Scriptures,  and  consequently  religious 
progress,  are  independent  of  us,   and  will   do  their 

*  Ibid.  p.  7. 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  187 

work  without  us :  we  are  nothing  but  a  monument  on 
the  path  of  religious  progress,  which  marches  on  to 
its  consummation  without  our  assistance.  Why,  then, 
this  life  of  trouble?  The  Greeks,  who  were  created, 
according  to  this  theory,  for  the  sake  of  beauty,  pro- 
duced all  those  beautiful  works  of  art,  wrote  all  those 
beautiful  books ;  and  then,  when  there  was  nothing 
more  for  them  to  do,  although  their  mission  was  not 
completely  fulfilled,  and  although  during  all  the  cen- 
turies which  separated  them  from  the  Renaissance 
their  beauty  lay  hidden  from  the  world — then  history 
removed  them  from  the  stage,  and  left  the  rest  to  that 
progress  which  proceeded  automatically  from  the 
Greek  legacy  of  works  of  art  and  books.  Why,  then, 
should  not  history  allow  us  to  make  our  exit?  We 
have  done  all  that  we  could  for  our  mission :  we  have 
produced  the  Scriptures.  Further  there  is  nothing 
for  us  to  do :  why,  then,  must  we  live  ? 

One  of  our  "  missionist "  thinkers,  a  learned 
preacher,  deals  with  this  question  in  an  article  en- 
titled, "Why  Do  We  Remain  Jews?",  and  tries  to 
answer  the  question  from  another  side.  We  remain 
faithful  to  Judaism,  he  thinks,  because  there  is  no 
other  religion  for  which  we  could  change  it.  Every 
other  religion  contains  something  which  we  cannot 
accept.  "  Natural  religion  "  would,  indeed,  be  suffi- 
cient for  us.  But  if  we  think  of  accepting  natural 
religion,  we  must  first  know  what  are  its  principles. 
Let  us,  then,  look  for  them  in  books  which  set  out  to 
expound    them,    for    instance,    in    Simon's    Natural 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 


Religion.  We  find  that  this  religion  has  three  fun- 
damental principles :  creation,  revelation,  and  reward 
and  punishment.  At  once  we  remember  that  as  much 
as  five  hundred  years  ago  Rabbi  Joseph  Albo,  author  of 
the  Principles,  based  Judaism  on  three  dogmas  very 
much  like  these.  Judaism,  therefoie,  is  natural  religion, 
and  there  is  no  need  to  change. 

Now  I  might  ask  this  preacher  how  he  would  answer 
those  Jews  (and  there  are  many  of  them  nowadays) 
for  whom  the  religion  of  Simon  and  his  school  is  an 
antiquated  philosophy,  very  far  from  being  "  natural," 
and  who  still  desire  to  remain  Jews,  without  knowing 
why  they  so  desire.  But  I  will  not  ask  him  this  ques- 
tion :  for  as  a  preacher  he  is  only  concerned  with 
philosophers  who  are  also  believers.  And  there  is 
another  question  which  I  might  put  to  him.  Does  he 
really  and  honestly  believe  that  there  is  no  diflference 
between  Simon's  "  Revelation  of  the  Godhead "  and 
Albo's  "  Law  from  Heaven  "  ?  But  this  also  I  will  not 
ask,  because  I  know  that  it  has  always  been  the  habit 
of  religious  philosophy — a  habit  long  since  recognized 
and  sanctioned — to  twist  texts  for  the  purpose  of  recon- 
ciling contradictions.  The  criticism  that  I  do  oflFer — 
and  it  is  one  which  deserves  our  preacher's  attention — 
I  will  put  in  the  form  of  the  following  dilemma.  If 
Judaism  includes,  in  addition  to  those  principles  men- 
tioned above,  certain  things  which  have  no  parallel  in 
natural  religion,  then  the  question  confronts  us  again : 
Why  should  we  not  change  the  one  for  the  other  ?  But 
if  there  is  no  real  difference  except  that  of  name,  then. 


SLAVERY  m  FREEDOM  189 

indeed,  the  question  becomes  more  insistent:  Why  not 
accept  a  change  of  name,  if  by  means  of  this  purely 
external  change  we  can  win  freedom  from  all  our 
sufferings?  It  is  not  the  name  that  is  of  importance 
to  our  mission,  but  the  power  to  fulfil  it :  that  is,  the 
power  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  Godhead  in  the 
Jewish  sense:  and  our  power  to  do  this  will  surely 
increase  out  of  all  proportion  if  we  substitute  the  name 
of  "  natural  religion  "  for  that  of  "  Jewish  religion." 
But  in  that  case  it  is  not  merely  permissible,  it  is 
obligatory  on  us  to  take  this  step,  for  the  sake  of  that 
mission  for  which  we  were  created. 

It  is  perhaps  superfluous  to  deal  at  length  with  this 
theory,  which,  indeed,  it  is  difficult,  in  our  day,  to 
treat  seriously.  We  are  forced,  despite  ourselves,  into 
a  smile,  a  smile  of  bitter  irony,  when  we  see  distin- 
guished men,  who  might  have  shown  their  sorely  tried 
people  real  light  on  its  hard  and  thorny  path,  wasting 
their  time  with  such  pleasant  sophistries  as  these ;  try- 
ing to  believe,  and  to  persuade  others,  that  a  whole 
people  can  have  maintained  its  existence,  and  borne  a 
heavy  burden  of  religious  observance  and  an  iron 
yoke  of  persecutions,  torments,  and  curses  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  all  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  the 
world  a  certain  philosophy,  which  is  already  expounded 
in  whole  libraries  of  books,  in  every  conceivable  lan- 
guage and  every  conceivable  style,  from  which  who 
will  may  learn  without  any  assistance  from  us:  and 
especially  at  the  present  time,  when  the  number  of  those 
who  wish  to  learn  grows  less  every  day,  nay,  when  we 


190  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

ourselves  are  every  day  forgetting  our  own  teaching. 
It  is,  indeed,  surprising  that  such  a  thinker  as  Munk, 
and  even  the  older  thinkers  of  our  own  day,  could  and 
still  can  believe  in  the  mission  of  Israel  in  the  sense 
explained  above.  But  we  shall  be  less  surprised  if 
we  remember  that  Munk  wrote  in  the  "  forties,"  and 
that  the  older  contributors  to  La  Gerbe  are  for  the 
most  part  children  of  that  earlier  generation  which 
educated  them — children  of  an  age  in  which  the  idea 
of  a  "  final  cause  "  was  intelligible  and  current  as  a 
scientific  theory.  It  is,  however,  a  stranger  phenome- 
non, and  more  difficult  to  explain,  that  the  same  position 
should  be  adopted  by  thinkers  and  writers  of  the  pres- 
ent generation.  These  men,  who  know  and  admit  that 
"  the  scientific  heresy  which  bears  the  name  of  Dar- 
win "  is  gaining  ground,  that  is  to  say,  that  the  world 
is  accepting  gradually  a  scientific  theory  which  does 
not  admit  the  existence  of  purpose  or  end  even  where 
it  seems  most  obvious — how  can  these  men  still  cling 
to  a  doctrine  which  demands  belief  in  the  missions 
of  nations  generally,  in  the  mission  of  Israel  in  par- 
ticular, and,  above  all,  in  such  a  wonderful  mission  as 
.this?  There  can  be  but  one  answer.  They  are  com- 
pelled to  do  so,  because  they  can  find  no  other  way  of 
reconciling  Judaism  with  emancipation.  In  the  first 
place,  Israel  has  no  right  to  be  anything  but  a  Church 
consecrated  to  Heaven ;  in  the  second  place,  this 
heavenly  bond  has  become  too  weak ;  and  in  the  third 
place — and  this  is  the  important  thing — they  feel,  in 
spite  of  it  all,  that  Jews  they  are,  and  Jews  they  want 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  191 

to  be.  And  so,  in  order  to  conceal  the  contradiction 
between  these  "  truths,"  they  are  forced  to  take  refuge 
in  this  antiquated  theory.  On  all  other  questions  of 
conduct  or  of  scholarship  they  belong  to  their  own 
generation;  but  on  the  Jewish  question  they  cannot 
move  from  the  position  which  their  fathers  took  up 
fifty  years  ago.  As  though  these  fifty  years  had  brought 
no  change  of  idea  and  outlook  into  the  world ! 

Thus  this  intellectual  slavery  also  is  a  result  of 
political  freedom.  If  not  for  this  freedom,  emanci- 
pated Jews  would  not  deny  the  existence  of  the  Jewish 
nation ;  they  would  not  have  to  climb  up  to  Heaven, 
on  an  old  and  rickety  ladder,  to  seek  there  what  they 
might  have  found  on  earth.  It  might  be  maintained, 
indeed,  that  even  then  there  would  have  been  thinkers 
who  inclined  to  look  for  some  "  mission  "  for  their 
people,  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  for  some  spiritual 
aim  suited  to  its  spiritual  characteristics.  But  then 
they  might  have  found  a  different  aim — not,  perhaps, 
a  finer  one,  but  still  one  that  would  have  gained  accept- 
ance more  readily,  one  more  in  accordance  with  the 
ideas  of  modern  times  and  with  the  truths  of  logic 
and  of  history.  For  instance,  they  might  have  argued 
thus:  Here  has  our  people  been  wandering  over  the 
face  of  the  earth  for  some  two  thousand  years,  in  the 
course  of  which  we  do  not  find  that  it  has  ever  con- 
sciously invented  any  new  thing  of  importance,  has 
ever  beaten  out  any  new  highway  on  the  tract  of  life. 
Its  part  has  been  always  that  of  the  huckster;  it  has 
peddled  about  all  kinds  of  goods,  material  and  spiritual, 


192  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

of  Other  people's  making.  All  the  good  work  which 
the  Jews  did  for  the  world's  culture  in  the  Middle 
Ages  was  at  bottom  nothing  but  huckstering  and  ped- 
dling: they  picked  up  learning  in  the  East,  and  gave 
it  to  the  West.  "  Yes  "  replies  Munk,  in  extenuation, 
"  because  the  mission  of  Israel  does  not  lie  in  making 
new  discoveries."  ^  Well,  so  let  it  be !  But  now  that 
we  see  that  Israel  was  fitted  to  be,  and  in  fact  has 
been,  a  huckster  of  culture,  surely  common  sense  will 
tell  us  that  this  is  the  occupation  for  Israel  to  follow 
now,  if  some  spiritual  aim  is  wanted.  Now,  therefore, 
that  we  have  acquired  culture  in  the  West,  let  us 
return  and  carry  it  to  the  East.  And,  if  we  are  so 
very  fond  of  teaching,  it  is  surely  better  for  us  to  go 
where  there  is  a  more  evident  lack  of  teachers,  and 
where  it  is  easier  to  find  attentive  pupils. 

But  the  truth  is  that  if  Western  Jews  were  not  slaves 
to  their  emancipation,  it  would  never  have  entered 
their  heads  to  consecrate  their  people  to  spiritual  mis- 
sions or  aims  before  it  had  fulfilled  that  physical, 
natural  "  mission  "  which  belongs  to  every  organism — 
before  it  had  created  for  itself  conditions  suitable  to 
its  character,  in  which  it  could  develop  its  latent 
powers  and  aptitudes,  its  own  particular  form  of  life, 
in  a  normal  manner,  and  in  obedience  to  the  demands 
of  its  nature.  Then,  and  only  then,  after  all  this  had 
been  achieved — then  and  only  then,  we  may  well  be- 
lieve, its  development  might  lead  it  in  course  of  time 
to  some  field  of  work  in  which  it  would  be  specially 

'  Dictionnaire  des  sciences  philosophiques,  iii,  article  "Juifs." 


SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM  193 

fitted  to  act  as  teacher,  and  thus  contribute  once  again 
to  the  general  good  of  humanity,  in  a  way  suited  to 
the  spirit  of  the  modern  world.  And  if  then  philoso- 
phers tell  us  that  in  this  field  of  work  lies  the  "mis- 
sion "  of  our  people,  for  which  it  was  created,  I  shall 
not,  indeed,  be  able  to  subscribe  to  their  view ;  but  I 
shall  not  quarrel  with  them  on  a  mere  question  of 
names. 

But  alas!  I  shall  doubtless  be  dead  and  buried  be- 
fore then.  To-day,  while  I  am  still  alive,  I  try  mayhap 
to  give  my  weary  eyes  a  rest  from  the  scene  of  igno- 
rance, of  degradation,  of  unutterable  poverty  that  con- 
fronts me  here  in  Russia,  and  find  comfort  by  look- 
ing yonder  across  the  border,  where  there  are  Jewish 
professors,  Jewish  members  of  Academies,  Jewish  offi- 
cers in  the  army,  Jewish  civil  servants ;  and  when  I  see 
there,  behind  the  glory  and  the  grandeur  of  it  all,  a 
twofold  spiritual  slavery — moral  slavery  and  intel- 
lectual slavery — and  ask  myself:  Do  I  envy  these  fel- 
low-Jews of  mine  their  emancipation? — I  answer,  in 
all  truth  and  sincerity :  No !  a  thousand  times  No !  The 
privileges  are  not  worth  the  price !  I  may  not  be  eman- 
cipated ;  but  at  least  I  have  not  sold  my  soul  for  eman- 
cipation. I  at  least  can  proclaim  from  the  housetops 
that  my  kith  and  kin  are  dear  to  me  wherever  they  are, 
without  being  constrained  to  find  forced  and  unsatis- 
factory excuses.  I  at  least  can  remember  Jerusalem 
at  other  times  than  those  of  "  divine  service  " :  I  can 
mourn  for  its  loss,  in  public  or  in  private,  without 
being  asked  what  Zion  is  to  me,  or  I  to  Zion.  I  at 
13 


J 94  SLAVERY  IN  FREEDOM 

least  have  no  need  to  exalt  my  people  to  Heaven,  to 
trumpet  its  superiority  above  all  other  nations,  in  order 
to  find  a  justification  for  its  existence.  I  at  least  know 
"  why  I  remain  a  Jew  " — or,  rather,  I  can  find  no 
meaning  in  such  a  question,  any  more  than  if  I  were 
asked  why  I  remain  my  father's  son.  I  at  least  can 
speak  my  mind  concerning  the  beliefs  and  the  opinions 
which  I  have  inherited  from  my  ancestors,  without 
fearing  to  snap  the  bond  that  unites  me  to  my  people. 
I  can  even  adopt  that  "  scientific  heresy  which  bears 
the  name  of  Darwin,"  without  any  danger  to  my  Juda- 
ism. In  a  word,  I  am  my  own,  and  my  opinions  and 
feelings  are  my  own.  I  have  no  reason  for  conceal- 
ing or  denying  them,  for  deceiving  others  or  myself. 
And  this  spiritual  freedom — scoff  who  will ! — I  would 
not  exchange  or  barter  for  all  the  emancipation  in  the 
world. 


SOME  CONSOLATION 
(1892) 

In  all  this  fresh  outbreak  of  calamities  that  has 
come  upon  us  of  late,  there  is  nothing  so  distressing  to 
every  Jew  as  the  recrudescence  of  the  "  blood-accusa- 
tion." This  abominable  charge,  old  though  it  is,  strikes 
us,  and  will  always  strike  us,  as  something  new ;  and 
since  the  Middle  Ages  it  has  always  profoundly  agitated 
the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  people,  not  only  in  the  actual 
place  where  the  cry  has  been  raised,  but  even  in  distant 
countries  where  the  incident  has  been  merely  reported. 

If  I  say  that  this  blood-accusation  has  profoundly 
agitated  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  people,  it  is  because 
the  roots  of  this  phenomenon  lie,  to  my  mind,  not  in 
any  external  cause,  but  in  the  innermost  spirit  of  the 
Jew.  If  in  medieval  instances  of  the  blood-accusa- 
tion we  find  that  the  whole  people  used  to  regard  itself 
as  standing  at  the  judgment  bar  together  with  the 
wretches  whom  fortune  made  the  immediate  victims 
of  the  scourge,  we  may  explain  this  fact  as  a  result 
of  the  physical  danger  to  the  whole  people,  which  was 
involved  in  every  local  incident  of  this  kind.  Again, 
if,  fifty  years  ago,  the  Damascus  blood-accusation  so 
cruelly  disturbed  the  halcyon  calm  of  European  Jewry, 
one  might  attribute  this  to  just  the  opposite  cause,  to 
the  extreme  jealousy  of  the  emancipated  Jews   for 


196  SOME  CONSOLATION 

their  newly-won  dignity  and  privileges.  But  at  the 
present  day  neither  explanation  is  open.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  physical  danger  is  no  longer  serious, 
especially  in  the  case  of  distant  communities;  on  the 
other  hand,  we  have  grown  used  to  listening  with 
equanimity  to  those  who  revile  us,  and  we  are  no 
longer  consumed  with  a  jealous  regard  for  our  dignity. 
Yet  even  to-day  the  blood-accusation  comes  as  a  rude 
and  violent  shock,  which  rouses  the  whole  of  Jewry 
to  a  passionate  repudiation  of  this  outrageous  charge. 
Clearly,  then,  it  is  not  a  question  of  mere  regard  for 
personal  safety  or  dignity:  the  spirit  of  the  people  is 
stung  to  consciousness  and  activity  by  the  sense  of 
its  shame.  In  all  else  it  might  be  said  of  us,  in  the 
words  of  the  wise  prince  of  old  time,  that  "  the  dead 
flesh  feels  not  the  knife  " ;  but  here  the  knife  cuts  not 
only  the  flesh — it  touches  the  soul. 

Yet  "  there  is  no  evil  without  good,"  that  is,  with- 
out a  good  moral.  The  great  evil  with  which  we  are 
concerned  here  is  not  without  its  useful  lesson,  which 
it  were  well  that  we  should  learn.  We  are  not  masters 
of  our  fate :  good  and  evil  we  accept  from  without, 
as  perforce  we  must;  so  that  it  is  fitting  that  we 
should  always  look  for  the  useful  lesson  hidden  in  the 
evil  that  comes  upon  us,  and  find  thus  at  least  some 
consolation. 

Convention  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in 
social  life.  There  was  a  time  when  even  philosophers 
thought  that  the  universal  acceptance  of  an  idea  was 
a  certain  proof  of  its  truth,  and  used  this  as  an  argu- 


SOME  CONSOLATION  i97 

ment  in  their  demonstration  of  the  existence  of  God. 
That  is  no  longer  so.  Philosophers  know  now  that 
there  is  no  lie,  no  piece  of  folly,  which  cannot  gain 
universal  acceptance  under  suitable  conditions.  But 
this  knowledge  is  confined  to  philosophers;  for  the 
mass  of  men  there  is  still  no  greater  authority  than 
this  conventional  acceptance.  If  "  everybody  "  believes 
that  this  or  that  is  so,  of  course  it  is  so;  if  I  do  not 
understand  it,  others  do;  if  I  see  what  appears  to  con- 
tradict it,  why,  "  everybody  "  sees  the  same  thing,  and 
yet  believes,  and  am  I  wiser  than  the  whole  world? 
Such  is  roughly  the  reasoning,  conscious  or  vaguely 
conscious,  of  the  plain  man ;  and,  having  reasoned  thus, 
he  too  accepts  the  idea,  and  helps  to  make  it  an  accepted 
convention. 

It  is  a  powerful  force,  this  of  convention,  so  power- 
ful, that,  generally  speaking,  a  man  cannot  escape  its 
influence  even  when  he  is  himself  its  object.  If 
"  everybody  "  says  of  such  an  one  that  he  is  a  pro- 
found thinker  or  a  sincere  believer,  that  he  has  this 
or  that  good  or  bad  quality,  he  ends  by  accepting  this 
idea  himself,  even  though  at  first  he  may  not  have 
discovered  in  himself  that  superiority  or  defect  which 
others  ascribe  to  him.  Nay,  more :  this  acceptance  of 
an  idea  by  its  object  moulds  him  little  by  little,  until 
he  approximates,  or  at  least  tends  to  approximate, 
to  the  state  of  mind  in  which  "  everybody  "  assumes 
him  to  be.  For  this  reason  educationalists  rightly 
warn  us  against  directing  the  attention  of  children,  at 
the  beginning  of  their  development,   to  their  moral 


198  SOME  CONSOLATION 

shortcomings,  and  still  more  against  attributing  to 
them  imaginary  shortcomings :  because  by  such  means 
we  may  accentuate  the  real  faults,  and  create  a  ten- 
dency towards  the  imaginary  ones. 

But  of  course  "  everybody  "  means  something  dif- 
ferent for  each  man.  For  each  of  us  "  the  world  "  is 
that  society  of  which  he  considers  himself  a  member, 
and  with  the  other  members  of  which  he  finds  a  cer- 
tain point  of  contact.  No  man  is  affected  by  the  con- 
ventional beliefs  of  groups  which  are  entirely  strange 
to  him  in  spirit,  with  which  he  feels  no  connection  in 
thought.  Take  for  instance  the  "  orthodox  "  and  the 
"  enlightened  "  Jews.  Each  school  has  its  own  con- 
ventional ideas ;  neither  pays  any  attention  to  those  of 
the  other,  even  in  matters  which  do  not  affect  religion ; 
and  their  mutual  scorn  and  ridicule  have  not  the  least 
effect,  because  each  regards  the  other  as  non-existent. 
But  when  conditions  arise  which  force  the  members  of 
the  two  schools  into  constant  intercourse,  and  they  get 
used  to  meeting  on  a  broad  basis  of  common  humanity, 
then  "  the  world  "  becomes  a  bigger  world,  and  the 
views  of  all  are  affected  in  many  ways  by  the  con- 
ventional beliefs  of  "  the  world "  in  its  new  and 
wider  sense. 

This  will  explain  why  in  the  old  days,  when  our 
ancestors  believed  in  a  literal  sense  that  they  were 
"  the  chosen  people,"  the  purity  of  their  souls  was  not 
sullied  by  the  shame  which  the  world  imputed  to  them. 
Conscious  of  their  own  worth,  they  were  not  in  the 
least  affected  by  the  conventional  ideas  of  the  out- 


SOME  CONSOLATION  199 


side  world,  which  was  to  them  a  society  of  alien  beings, 
fundamentally  different  from  and  unrelated  to  them- 
selves. In  those  days  the  Jew  could  listen  unmoved 
to  the  tale  of  moral  defects  and  sins  of  conduct  which 
the  world  told  and  believed  of  him,  without  feeling 
any  inner  sense  of  shame  or  humiliation.  What  mat- 
tered the  ideas  of  these  aliens  about  him  and  his  worth  ? 
All  that  he  asked  of  them  was  to  let  him  live  in  peace. 
But  in  modern  times  it  is  different.  Our  "  world  " 
has  expanded:  what  Europe  believes,  affects  every 
side  of  our  lives  in  the  most  vital  way.  And  since  we 
no  longer  treat  the  outside  world  as  a  thing  apart,  we 
are  influenced,  despite  ourselves,  by  the  fact  that  the 
outside  world  treats  us  as  a  thing  apart.  It  was 
recently  asked  by  a  Russian  writer,  in  all  simplicity: 
Since  everybody  hates  the  Jews,  can  we  think  that 
everybody  is  wrong,  and  the  Jews  are  right?  There 
are  many  among  us  Jews  on  whom  a  similar  question 
half-unconsciously  forces  itself.  Can  we  think,  they 
ask,  that  all  the  vicious  characteristics  and  evil  prac- 
tices which  the  whole  world  ascribes  to  the  Jews  are 
sheer  imagination? 

This  doubt,  once  aroused,  is  easily  strengthened  by 
those  false  inferences  from  particular  to  universal 
which  are  so  common  among  ordinary  men.  There 
is  a  well-known  story  about  a  traveller  who,  happen- 
ing on  an  inn  where  the  hostler  stammered,  wrote  in 
his  diary,  "  The  hostlers  in  X.  are  stammerers."  This 
story  is  a  comic  illustration  of  the  kind  of  logic  on 
which  most  of  the  plain  man's  general  propositions 


SOME  CONSOLATION 


are  based.  He  generalizes  from  the  particular  in- 
stance to  the  whole  class  with  the  name  of  which  that 
instance  is  normally  labelled.  He  does  not  see  that 
one  particular  may  belong  to  several  classes,  that  is, 
may  have  affinities  with  one  class  of  things  by  virtue 
of  one  of  its  qualities,  and  with  another  class  by 
virtue  of  a  second,  whereas  its  name  only  indicates  its 
connection  with  one  of  these  classes  through  a  single 
aspect,  not  through  all  its  aspects.  It  is  in  proposi- 
tions of  this  kind  that  the  universally  accepted  ideas 
about  the  Jews  can  and  do  find  their  support.  "  A 
and  B  are  Jews  by  name  and  dishonest  by  character: 
ergo,  the  Jews  are  dishonest."  True  logic  will  reply,  of 
course,  that  even  if  all  the  Jews  of  modern  times  were 
really  dishonest,  that  would  still  not  prove  the  general 
proposition,  that  "  the  Jews  are  dishonest,"  that  is,  that 
the  quality  of  dishonesty,  which  belongs  to  every  Jew, 
belongs  to  him  by  virtue  of  his  inclusion  in  the  class 
of  Jews,  and  not  by  virtue  of  his  inclusion  in  some 
other  class — for  instance,  that  of  tradesmen — which 
embraces  the  individual  Jew  together  with  other  indi- 
viduals who  have  no  connection  with  the  class  of  Jews. 
In  order  to  decide  this  question,  we  must  first  of  all 
examine  the  other  individuals  who  are  included,  to- 
gether with  the  Jews,  in  other  classes.  If  this  exam- 
ination shows  that  the  quality  of  dishonesty  does  not 
belong  to  any  class  which  embraces  both  Jews  and 
non-Jews,  then,  but  not  till  then,  have  we  the  right  to 
lay  down  the  judgment  that  Judaism  is  the  source  of 
dishonesty.    But,  as  I  have  said,  men  are  not  usually 


SOME  CONSOLATION 


very  logical,  and  we  cannot  demand  strict  logic  even 
of  the  ordinary  run  of  Jews.  They  hear  the  univers- 
ally accepted  judgment;  they  see  that  it  is  actually 
true  of  a  good  many  Jews ;  and  this  is  sufficient  to 
make  them  begin  to  subscribe  to  the  judgment  them- 
selves. Thus  "  Jewish  characteristics  "  pass  from  hand 
to  hand  like  an  honest  coin,  which,  having  become 
current  in  the  outside  world,  gains  currency  also  among 
the  Jews.  But  there  is  this  difference.  The  outside 
world  recounts  our  bad  qualities  one  by  one,  with 
a  mocking  and  triumphant  exultation ;  while  we  repeat 
the  lesson  after  them  word  for  word,  in  the  still 
small  voice  of  puling  self-extenuation.  For  them 
(to  borrow  a  simile  from  Talmudic  law)  we  are  the 
earthenware  vessel  which  cannot  be  cleansed,  but  must 
be  broken ;  for  ourselves  we  are  the  vessel  of  metal, 
which  may  be  cleansed  by  water  and  fire. 

But  this  state  of  things,  if  it  continues,  may  do  us 
a  great  moral  harm.  There  is  nothing  more  dangerous 
for  a  nation  or  for  an  individual  than  to  plead  guilty 
to  imaginary  sins.  Where  the  sin  is  real,  there  is 
opportunity  for  repentance;  by  honest  endeavor  the 
sinner  may  purify  himself.  But  when  a  man  has  been 
persuaded  to  suspect  himself  unjustly,  how  can  he  get 
rid  of  his  consciousness  of  guilt  ?  "  Remove  the  beam 
from  your  eye,"  they  tell  him ;  and  he  would  fain  obey, 
but  cannot,  because  the  beam  is  not  really  there.  He 
is  in  the  position  of  the  monomaniac  who,  for  some 
reason,  has  come  to  believe  that  a  heavy  weight  is 
hanging  from  his  nose  and  cannot  be  removed.     But 


SOME  CONSOLATION 


the  evil  goes  further  than  this.  Sometimes  the  con- 
viction of  sin  actually  produces  in  the  individual  that 
failing  with  which  he  believes  the  whole  people  to  be 
infected,  although,  as  an  individual,  he  is  entirely  free 
from  any  predisposition  towards  it.  For  instance:  a 
people  which  has  produced  men  like  Maimonides  must 
number  in  its  ranks  even  to-day  systematic,  orderly, 
and  methodical  persons,  who  might  be  able  to  permeate 
the  work  of  the  community  in  which  they  take  part 
with  their  own  habits,  and  to  influence  their  fellow- 
workers  in  the  same  direction.  But  it  is  an  accepted 
idea  that  objection  to  order  and  method  is  a  Jewish 
quality;  and  we  ourselves  have  accepted  this  idea, 
though  it  is  by  no  means  clear  whether  this  char- 
acteristic, which  is,  in  fact,  common  among  a  large 
section  of  Jews,  belongs  to  the  Jews  as  such,  or  is 
due,  as  appears  more  probable,  to  the  Heder  train- 
ing. Hence  those  of  us  who  have  a  love  of  order 
come  to  believe  that  there  is  no  going  against  the 
national  character,  and  are  therefore  powerless  to 
reform.  Indeed,  if  they  are  patriotic,  they  actually 
set  about  to  conquer  their  own  "  anti- Jewish  "  love  of 
order,  and  teach  themselves  to  behave  in  true  "  Jew- 
ish "  fashion. 

What  we  need,  then,  is  some  means  of  emancipating 
ourselves  from  the  influence  of  conventional  prejudices 
as  to  the  characteristics  and  the  moral  worth  of  the 
Jews.  We  must  get  rid  of  this  self-contempt,  this  idea 
that  we  are  really  worse  than  all  the  world.  Other- 
wise we  may  in  course  of  time  become  in  reality  what 
we  now  imagine  ourselves  to  be. 


SOME  CONSOLATION  203 

This  necessary  means  of  escape  the  world  itself, 
with  its  accepted  beliefs,  affords  us — through  the  blood- 
accusation.  This  accusation  is  the  solitary  case  in 
which  the  general  acceptance  of  an  idea  about  ourselves 
does  not  make  us  doubt  whether  all  the  world  can  be 
wrong,  and  we  right,  because  it  is  based  on  an  absolute 
lie,  and  is  not  even  supported  by  any  false  inference 
from  particular  to  universal.  Every  Jew  who  has  been 
brought  up  among  Jews  knows  as  an  indisputable  fact 
that  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Jewry  there 
is  not  a  single  individual  who  drinks  human  blood  for 
religious  purposes.  We  ought,  therefore,  always  to 
remember  that  in  this  instance  the  general  belief, 
which  is  brought  to  our  notice  ever  and  anon  by  the 
revival  of  the  blood-accusation,  is  absolutely  wrong; 
because  this  will  make  it  easier  for  us  to  get  rid  of  the 
tendency  to  bow  to  the  authority  of  "  everybody  "  in 
other  matters.  Let  the  world  say  what  it  will  about 
our  moral  inferiority :  we  know  that  its  ideas  rest  on 
popular  logic,  and  have  no  real  scientific  basis.  Who 
has  ever  penetrated  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Jew,  and 
discovered  his  essential  nature  ?  Who  has  ever  weighed 
the  Jew  against  the  non-Jew  of  the  same  class — Jewish 
tradesman  against  non-Jewish  tradesman,  persecuted 
Jew  against  persecuted  non-Jew,  starved  Jew  against 
starved  non-Jew,  and  so  on — who  has  carried  out  this 
test,  scientifically  and  impartially,  and  found  the  balance 
incline  to  this  side  or  to  that? 

"  But  " — you  ask — "  is  it  possible  that  everybody 
can  be  wrong,  and  the  Jews  right  ?  " 


ao4  SOME  CONSOLATION 

Yes,  it  is  possible:  the  blood-accusation  proves  it 
possible.  Here,  you  see,  the  Jews  are  right  and  per- 
fectly innocent.  A  Jew  and  blood — could  there  be  a 
more  complete  contradiction?    And  yet  .... 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 

(1897) 

Since  the  very  beginning  of  the  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  mankind  various  philosophers  and  men  of 
letters  have  been  ceaselessly  waging  war  on  those 
superstitions,  those  barbarous  laws  and  customs,  which 
each  generation  inherits  from  its  predecessors ;  but 
never  has  this  heirloom  of  the  human  race  fallen  on 
such  evil  days  as  these.  At  first  sight,  indeed,  it 
appears  as  though  its  more  aggressive  opponents  had 
diminished  in  number;  as  though  it  were  no  longer  a 
target  for  so  many  keen  arrows.  But  in  reality  the 
battle  has  not  ceased:  only  the  weapons  are  different. 

Formerly  the  philosophers  and  men  of  letters  drew 
their  weapons  from  the  armory  of  logic.  They  tried 
to  prove  that  a  certain  belief  could  not  hold  its  ground 
in  the  face  of  logical  deduction  or  scientific  evidence; 
that  this  or  that  custom  or  law  was  opposed  to 
moral  ideas,  or  was  detrimental  to  the  individual  or  to 
society.  Proofs  of  this  nature  were  set  forth  in  an 
attractive  literary  form,  expounded  and  emphasized  in 
a  smooth  and  easy  style,  pointed  by  striking  phrases 
and  epigrams.  And  yet  they  influenced  but  a  handful 
of  individuals.  The  mass  of  men,  and  even  the  mass 
of  educated  men,  remained  faithful  to  their  inherited 


2o6  ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 

opinions  and  traditional  way  of  life,  and  paid  little 
heed  to  the  criticisms  of  logic  and  science.  Nay,  the 
effect  of  these  criticisms  on  the  world  at  large  was 
actually  in  inverse  proportion  to  their  simplicity  and 
clearness :  whence  arose  that  great  generalization  anent 
the  progress  of  intellectual  development,  that  the 
simplest  and  clearest  truth  is  the  least  readily  accepted 
by  the  majority  of  men.  Thus  in  every  generation  we 
find  these  pugnacious  critics  complaining  bitterly  of  the 
pig-headedness  and  inveterate  stupidity  of  mankind. 
They  do  not  stop  to  consider  what  is  the  root  of  this 
"  stupidity  "  ;  it  does  not  occur  to  them  that  they  them- 
selves, with  their  methods  of  warfare,  supply  theii 
enemy  with  the  strength  to  resist  them.  Yet  such  is 
in  fact  the  case.  For  they  provoke  the  antagonism  of 
a  powerful  human  feeling,  that  of  respect  for  the 
past.  This  feeling  has  been  a  power  in  the  human 
mind  from  the  most  distant  ages;  and  there  is  much 
probability  in  the  view  held  by  many  scholars,  that  in 
the  childhood  of  mankind  men  went  so  far  as  to  regard 
their  ancestors  as  gods.  Hence,  every  idea  which 
seems  to  derogate  from  the  respect  due  to  our  ancestors 
and  mar  the  brightness  of  that  vivid  picture  of  them 
which  is  treasured  by  their  descendants,  inevitably 
rouses  this  feeling  to  determined  opposition.  It  finds 
in  this  feeling  an  effective  bar  to  its  acceptance.  "  This 
belief,  or  law,  or  custom,  which  we  have  inherited  from 
our  ancestors  is  absurd  " — why,  it  is  as  though  one 
should  say,  "  Our  ancestors,  who  left  us  such  absurdi- 
ties, were  fools."     And  the  more  obvious  and  indis- 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP  207 

putable  the  falsehood  or  the  barbarism,  the  greater 
the  insult  to  the  ancestors  who  clung  to  it,  and  the 
greater,  therefore,  the  obstinacy  with  which  men  resist 
the  idea  that  their  ancestors  were  unable  to  see  through 
so  crude  a  piece  of  error  or  folly.  How  could  they 
have  helped  noticing  it? — this  is  the  first  question  that 
occurs  to  the  plain  man,  whether  he  formulates  it  dis- 
tinctly or  not,  when  he  hears  any  criticism  of  opinions 
and  customs  which  have  the  sanction  of  long  accept- 
ance. If  the  only  answer  vouchsafed  to  him  is  that 
his  ancestors  were  deficient  in  insight,  or  were  the  prey 
of  impostors — and  this  was  the  old  method  of  account- 
ing for  the  facts  of  history — then  he  is  bound  to  come 
to  an  exactly  opposite  conclusion.  Our  ancestors,  he 
decides,  were  certainly  guided  by  wisdom  in  all  that 
they  said  and  did,  and  their  words  and  actions  are 
eternally  right ;  but  we  are  unable  to  understand  them, 
because  they  were  giants,  or  we  are  pigmies. 

But  since  the  conceptions  associated  with  the  term 
"  evolution  "  arose  in  the  domain  of  natural  science, 
and  made  their  way  subsequently  into  philosophy  and 
history,  the  situation  has  changed  completely.  In  place 
of  invective  and  moral  condemnation,  tirade  and 
sarcasm,  we  now  have  analysis.  The  modern  critic 
analyzes  human  opinions  and  actions.  He  does  not  rest 
content  with  a  pronouncement  that  this  belief  is  false, 
or  that  custom  absurd.  He  regards  all  human  actions 
and  thoughts  as  natural  phenomena,  the  inevitable 
result  of  certain  causes,  fruits,  as  it  were,  of  the  human 
tree,  which  came  to  birth  and  went  through  the  slow 


2o8  ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 

process  of  ripening  according  to  definite  laws,  like 
those  which  determine  the  growth  of  all  things  in  the 
vegetable  and  animal  worlds.  And  just  as  the  natural 
scientist  is  not  concerned  to  pronounce  judgment  on  the 
objects  which  he  examines,  to  say,  "  this  is  good,  that 
bad;  this  is  sweet,  that  bitter;  this  is  beautiful,  that 
ugly";  just  as  he  knows  no  distmction  between  the 
most  exquisite  bird  and  the  most  repulsive  insect,  but 
examines  all  alike  with  the  minutest  attention,  doing 
his  best  to  penetrate  into  the  mystery  of  their  lives  and 
the  process  of  their  evolution :  so,  too,  the  student  of 
the  spiritual  life  of  mankind  has  no  concern  with  good 
and  evil,  wisdom  or  folly.  For  him  it  is  all  the  fruit 
of  the  human  tree.  All  the  phenomena  alike  attract 
him  and  stimulate  him  to  a  thorough  investigation,  in 
order  that  he  may  understand  how  such  things  come 
into  being,  what  internal  and  external  conditions  are 
necessary  for  their  life  and  development,  why  and  how 
they  change  from  age  to  age,  and  so  forth.  For  in- 
vestigation of  this  kind  there  is  no  difference  between 
earlier  and  later  generations  of  men.  There  are  no 
giants  and  no  pigmies.  All  alike  are  men,  all  are 
subject  to  eternal  laws,  and  all  in  every  age  produce 
such  fruit  as  is  determined  by  their  condition  and  their 
environment.  Examination  of  this  kind,  in  its  analysis 
and  exposition  of  ancient  beliefs  and  actions,  does  not 
look  down  contemptuously  on  the  ancients.  It  treats 
with  quiet  courtesy  and  respect  even  the  things  that 
we  consider  most  barbarous  or  most  wicked,  those  on 
which  the  logical  critics  pour  out  torrents  of  abuse  and 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP  209 

mockery,  insult  and  vituperation.  It  recognizes — and 
it  alone  recognizes — that  our  outlook  differs  from  that 
of  our  ancestors,  not  because  we  are  essentially  better 
than  they  were,  but  simply  because  our  mental  condi- 
tion has  changed,  and  our  environment  is  different; 
that  there  is  nothing  so  barbarous,  so  evil,  that  the 
human  mind  cannot  accept  it  and  foster  it,  given  suit- 
able conditions;  and  that  consequently  many  of  the 
sacred  truths  of  every  generation  must  become  false- 
hoods and  absurdities  in  the  next,  and  they  who  judge 
to-day  will  not  escape  scot  free  from  the  tribunal  of 
to-morrow. 

Hence  the  multiplication  and  diffusion  of  works 
written  in  this  spirit  of  historical  criticism  have  done 
much  more  to  free  the  human  mind  from  its  subservi- 
ence to  the  past  than  all  the  incisive  reasoning  of  the 
heretics  of  past  generations.  Every  thinking  man  who 
examines  the  past  in  this  spirit  becomes,  as  it  were, 
a  reincarnation  of  the  souls  of  all  the  ages.  Under- 
standing the  mental  life  of  past  generations,  and  enter- 
ing sympathetically  into  their  ideals,  he  does  not  regard 
it  as  a  defect  in  them  that  their  opinions  and  customs 
do  not  in  every  respect  come  up  to  the  standard  of 
our  ideas  and  demands  at  the  present  day.  Conse- 
quently, the  feeling  of  respect  for  the  men  of  the  past 
does  not  compel  him  to  follow  them  in  practice;  he 
recognizes  that  every  generation  has  its  ideals,  every 
generation  its  truths.  And  so  the  ancients  do  not 
lose  the  respect  due  to  them :  their  thoughts  and  their 
actions  were  such  as  suited  the  conditions  of  their  own 
14 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 


time,  just  as  our  thoughts  and  our  actions  corre- 
spond to  the  conditions  in  which  we  are  placed  to-day. 
What  I  have  said  is  true  of  the  world  in  general ; 
but  in  Jewish  life  the  traces  of  this  change  of  atti- 
tude are  not  yet  visible.  We  are,  indeed,  always  be- 
hindhand in  these  matters ;  "  new  "  ideas  dawn  on  us 
at  a  time  when  they  have  reached  their  twilight  for  the 
rest  of  the  world.  So  with  us  the  old  struggle  between 
respect  for  tradition  and  modern  criticism  is  still 
fought  on  the  old  lines.  Criticism  of  tradition  involves 
contempt  and  depreciation  of  those  from  whom  it  has 
been  inherited;  and  so,  out  of  respect  for  them,  we 
are  bound  to  observe  their  tradition  to  the  very  letter. 
It  is  true  that  of  late  the  noise  of  battle  has  sub- 
sided even  among  us,  and  for  many  years  we  have 
scarcely  heard  any  dispute  about  the  authoritative 
beliefs  and  laws  of  our  people.  But  this  is  not  because 
loud  criticism  has  given  place  to  quiet  investigation: 
it  is  because  the  idea  of  nationalism  has  captured  the 
best  elements  in  our  literature,  and  many  adherents 
of  this  creed,  which  is  based  on  a  feeling  of  respect 
and  affection  for  the  national  spirit,  think  it  their  duty 
to  say  Amen,  though  it  be  but  with  the  lips,  to  all 
the  hallowed  traditions  of  the  past.  They  too  have 
fallen  a  prey  to  the  mistaken  notion  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  look  at  the  past  impartially,  and  to  recognize 
how  much  of  it  seems  strange  from  the  point  of  view  of 
modern  conceptions,  without  at  the  same  time  pro- 
nouncing adversely  on  the  intrinsic  worth  of  the  past — ■ 
which  of  course  would  bring  the  nation  into  contempt, 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 


and  would  weaken  the  feeling  of  affection  for  the 
national  spirit.  Hence,  in  Western  Europe,  where 
most  Jewish  thinkers  still  regard  Judaism  solely  as  a 
religion,  attempts  are  still  made  to  reform  the  religious 
life  of  the  Jews  and  purify  their  laws,  by  means  of  that 
logical  criticism  which  can  only  judge  the  value  of 
early  institutions  by  our  standards,  and  cannot  examine 
their  intrinsic  qualities  and  their  rise  and  development 
by  the  light  of  the  ideas  with  which  they  were  con- 
temporary. 

As  a  type  of  this  kind  of  criticism  take  an  article 
which  I  have  before  me,  entitled  "  Research  and  Re- 
form." 1 

Undoubtedly  this  article  is  right  in  the  main.  All 
the  sections  and  paragraphs  from  the  Shulhan  'Aruk 
which  the  author  quotes  are  certainly  quite  foreign  to 
our  spirit  at  the  present  day ;  certainly  "  there  is  not 
a  single  Jew  of  modern  education  who  can  believe  in 
them."  But  the  inference  which  he  draws,  that  "  we 
must  proclaim  aloud,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  that 
this  is  not  our  Law,"  is  wrong,  and  has  no  more  foun- 
dation than  his  hope  that  such  proclamation  will  avail 
"  to  remove  every  stumbling-block  from  the  path  of 
the  blind."     The  Shulhan  'Anik  is  not  (as  he  says) 

'  This  article,  written  by  an  Italian  Rabbi,  A.  Lolli,  appeared 
in  Ha-Shiloah,  vol.  ii,  no.  4.  It  attacks  the  Shulhan  'Aruk, 
which  contains  so  many  laws  that  are  distasteful  to  us,  and 
demands  that  such  laws  should  be  abolished,  and  that  we 
should  "proclaim  aloud,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  that  this 
is  not  our  Law."  [The  Shulhan  'Aruk  is  a  code  of  Jewish  law, 
which  is  the  final  authority  for  orthodox  Jews.] 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 


"  the  book  that  we  have  chosen  for  our  guide,"  but  the 
book  that  has  been  made  our  guide,  whether  we  would 
or  not,  by  force  of  historical  development:  because 
this  book,  just  as  it  is,  in  its  present  form,  with  all  its 
most  uncouth  sections,  was  the  book  that  best  suited 
the  spirit  of  our  people,  their  condition  and  their  needs, 
in  those  generations  in  which  they  accepted  it  as  bind- 
ing on  themselves  and  their  descendants.  If  we  pro- 
claim that  "  this  is  not  our  Law,"  we  shall  be  proclaim- 
ing a  falsehood.  This  is  our  Law,  couched  in  the  only 
form  which  was  possible  in  the  Middle  Ages :  just  as 
the  Talmud  is  our  Law  in  the  form  which  it  took  in  the 
last  days  of  the  ancient  world,  and  just  as  the  Bible  is 
our  Law  in  the  form  which  it  took  while  the  Jews  still 
lived  as  a  nation  on  their  own  land.  The  three  books 
are  but  three  milestones  on  the  road  of  a  single  de- 
velopment, that  of  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  nation. 
Each  corresponds  to  the  nation's  condition  and  needs 
in  a  different  period. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  exile  and  persecution  left  our 
people  but  one  mainstay — the  Torah ;  and  since  Torah 
was  everything,  ever>'thing  was  Torah,  and  no  Jew 
moved  a  finger  without  first  finding  authority  in  the 
Torah.  Religious  precepts  were  regarded  as  laws  of 
nature,  which  it  was  men's  duty  to  know  and  Hve  by, 
if  they  wished  for  life,  without  reasoning  about  them 
or  distinguishing  between  the  pleasant  and  the  unpleas- 
ant. And  just  as  medical  science  is  not  ashamed  to 
treat  of  the  hidden  organs  of  the  human  body,  so  the 
Torah  could  not  leave  untouched  any  jot  or  tittle  of 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP  213 

the  minutiae  of  life,  be  they  never  so  repulsive.  There 
is  a  delightful  story  in  the  Talmud  which  illustrates  ex- 
cellently the  mental  outlook  of  our  ancestors,  and  the 
attitude  to  the  Torah  which  had  begun  even  then  to 
develop.  King  David,  they  say,  went  into  his  bath- 
room naked,  and  was  grieved  to  think  that  at  that 
moment  there  was  no  link  between  himself  and  the 
Torah,  until  he  remembered  "  the  sign  in  his  flesh," 
and  was  comforted!  The  Jew  of  those  days  felt  his 
life  and  his  individuality  only  so  long  as  he  was  sur- 
rounded by  an  atmosphere  of  Torah.  Let  him  leave 
that  atmosphere  for  a  moment,  and  it  was  as  though 
he  had  suddenly  entered  a  strange  world.  All  the 
bitterness  of  his  life  in  a  foreign  land,  all  the  horror 
of  his  position  in  this  world,  was  borne  in  upon  him 
with  overwhelming  force,  and  threw  him  into  a  frenzy 
of  dark  foreboding;  till  he  turned  and  fled  back  into 
his  own  retreat,  where  he  could  breathe  the  air  that 
was  so  dear  to  him.  So  completely  was  the  soul  of 
the  Jew  in  those  days  identified  with  the  Torah,  so 
utterly  unable  to  bear  anything  profane,  that  even  so 
simple  and  necessary  a  process  as  the  morning  rinsing 
of  the  mouth  had  to  be  made  a  religious  custom,  and 
provided  with  a  "  reason."  Its  object  was — to  cleanse 
the  mouth  for  prayer!'^ 

Our  reverend  critic  quotes  the  dictum  of  Samuel 
David  Luzzatto,  that  "the  Mishnah  and  the  Talmud 
are  not  books  which  were  originally  intended  to  be  a 

*  See  Orah   Hayyim,   iv,    17,  and  the    commentary  of  the 
Wilna  Gaon. 


214  ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 

code  of  laws  and  ritual  ordinances."  After  what  we 
have  seen,  it  is  not  surprising  that  this  view,  correct 
though  it  is,  could  never  be  accepted  by  the  people  at 
large.  What  they  needed  in  those  days  was  not  a 
collection  of  the  utterances  of  learned  men,  each 
occasioned  by  particular  circumstances,  or  a  body  of 
different  opinions  which  might  be  accepted  or  rejected. 
They  needed  neither  more  nor  less  than  "  laws  and 
ritual  ordinances,"  fixed  immutably  and  beyond  ques- 
tion, possessed  of  an  authority  backed  by  force,  and 
capable  of  giving  a  definite  religious  form  to  the  whole 
content  of  life,  down  to  the  smallest  detail.  Out  of 
this  imperative  need  arose  inevitably  the  new  way  of 
regarding  the  Talmud,  the  only  source  from  which 
such  laws  and  ordinances  could  be  derived,  as  having 
throughout  the  force  of  a  living  and  eternal  law.  Out 
of  this  need  arose  also  the  Yad  ha-hasakah  ^  of 
Maimonides  (to  use  a  late  subtitle  which  goes  to  the 
very  root  of  the  matter),  the  dogmatic  presentment  of 
.the  religious  prescriptions  as  deduced  from  the  Talmud 
according  to  certain  general  principles  of  interpreta- 
tion, which  are  purely  external,  and  make  no  distinc- 
tion between  different  laws  on  the  ground  of  their 
intrinsic  value,  and  no  attempt  to  exclude  those  which 
had  worth  only  in  their  own  time  and  place.  Any 
such  distinction,  any  such  attempt,  would  have  been 

>[Yad  ha-hazakah  ("Strong  Hand")  is  the  subtitle  of  Mai- 
monides' Mishneh  Torah,  a  codification  of  the  whole  of  Jewish 
law.  The  author  regards  it  here  as  a  hint  at  the  enforced 
authority  of  the  prescriptions  of  ceremonial  Judaism.] 


ANCESTOR  WORSHIP  21s 

opposed  to  the  idea  of  the  Talmud  as  a  book  of  laws 
and  religious  ordinances  intended  for  all  time;  but  it 
was  only  on  the  basis  of  that  idea  that  the  dogmatic 
structure  could  expand  and  develop  till  it  reached 
its  full  dimensions,  and  became  all-embracing,  in  the 
Shulhan  'Aruk. 

Now  it  is  quite  obvious  that  this  need  for  a  detailed 
code  of  religious  observances  is  not  widely  felt  in  our 
own  time.  Even  those  Jews  who  still  carry  out  every 
detail  of  the  Shulhan  'Aruk  do  so  only  because  they  are 
slaves  to  the  past.  If  the  Shulhan  'Aruk  had  not  been 
there  already,  our  generation  would  certainly  not  have 
produced  it.  And  yet  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  think 
that  the  wall  of  tradition  can  be  overthrown  to-day 
by  a  blast  of  the  trumpet.  We  have  to  take  into  account 
the  powerful  feeling  of  respect  for  antiquity,  which 
guards  the  wall  like  an  armed  battalion,  and  is  but 
roused  by  the  trumpet  sound  to  a  more  strenuous  de- 
fence. In  the  day  when  there  has  been  born  and  de- 
veloped in  us  a  new  kind  of  need,  a  need  to  under- 
stand the  rise  and  growth  of  traditional  practices  as  a 
natural  process ;  when  we  have  a  new  Maimonides, 
gifted  with  the  historical  sense,  to  rearrange  the  whole 
Law,  not  in  an  artificial,  logical  order,  but  according 
to  the  historical  evolution  of  each  prescription ;  when 
in  place  of  critics  of  the  Shidhan  'Aruk,  proclaiming 
that  "  this  is  not  our  Law,"  we  have  commentators  of 
a  new  kind,  who  shall  try  to  discover  the  source  of  Its 
ordinances  in  the  mental  life  of  the  people,  to  show 
why  and  how  they  grew  up  from  within,  or  were  im- 


2i6  ANCESTOR  WORSHIP 

ported  and  naturalized  through  stress  or  favor  of 
circumstances:  in  that  day,  but  not  before,  will  there 
be  a  severance  of  the  link  between  the  feeling  of  respect 
for  antiquity  and  practical  life;  and  we  shall  be  able 
to  love  and  respect  the  spirit  of  our  people  perhaps 
even  more  than  we  do  now,  and  to  feel  in  every  nerve 
the  intense  tragedy  that  lurks  beneath  even  the  most 
barbarous  relics  of  our  past,  without  being  compelled 
to  regard  our  tradition,  in  all  its  details,  as  a  body  of 
laws  and  ordinances  superior  to  time  and  place. 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 
(1898) 

Amid  the  confused  Babel  of  voices  that  are  heard 
in  the  prevaihng  chaos  of  modern  Jewry,  there  is  one 
angry,  strident,  revolutionary  voice  which  gains  the 
public  ear  occasionally,  and  leaves  a  most  extraordinary 
impression.  To  most  men  it  is  quite  unintelligible : 
they  stand  amazed  for  one  moment — and  go  their  way. 
A  few  there  are  who  understand  at  least  where  the 
voice  comes  from,  and  these,  because  they  understand 
so  much,  sorrowfully  shake  their  heads,  and  likewise 
go  their  way.  But  the  younger  men,  ever  on  the  alert, 
ever  receptive  of  new  ideas,  drink  in  the  new  gospel 
which  this  voice  proclaims ;  they  are  thrilled  by  it, 
attracted  by  it,  without  inquiring  very  deeply  what  is 
its  ultimate  worth,  or  whether  the  idea  which  it  con- 
tains is  really  a  new  truth,  worthy  all  this  enthusiasm. 

The  new  gospel  is  that  of  "  the  transvaluation  of 
values  " ;  and  as  for  the  idea  which  it  contains,  it  is, 
indeed,  no  easy  task  to  penetrate  the  darkness  which 
envelops  it,  and  to  state  it  in  clear  and  definite  form ; 
but  if  we  examine  the  utterances  of  its  votaries,  and 
piece  together  the  shreds  and  scraps  of  intelligible 
speech  which  sometimes  float  on  the  stream  of  incom- 
prehensibility, we  may  perhaps  describe  it  thus: 

The  whole  life  of  the  Jews  from  the  time  of  the 


2i8  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

Prophets  to  the  present  day  has  been,  in  the  opinion  of 
those  who  propound  this  new  gospel,  one  long  mis- 
take; and  it  demands  immediate  rectification.  During 
all  these  centuries  Judaism  has  exalted  the  abstract, 
spiritual  ideal  above  real,  physical  force :  it  has  exalted 
the  "  book  "  over  the  "  sword."  By  this  means  it  has 
destroyed  in  the  Jews  the  striving  after  individual 
mastery;  it  has  subordinated  the  reality  of  life  to  its 
shadow ;  it  has  made  .the  Jew  a  sort  of  appendage  to 
an  abstract  moral  law.  In  this  condition  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  the  Jews  to  live  on  among  the  nations;  still 
more  impossible  for  them  to  restore  their  national  life 
in  their  own  country.  Now,  therefore,  that  .the  desire 
for  a  national  rebirth  has  been  aroused  in  us,  it  be- 
hooves us  first  of  all  to  trans-valuate  the  moral  values 
which  are  accepted  among  us  at  present ;  to  overthrow, 
mercilessly  and  at  a  single  blow,  the  historic  edifice 
which  our  ancestors  have  left  us,  seeing  that  it  is  built 
up  on  this  dangerously  mistaken  idea  of  the  superior- 
ity of  spirit  to  matter,  and  of  the  subordination  of  the 
individual  life  to  abstract  moral  laws.  We  must,  then, 
start  again  from  the  beginning,  and  build  up  a  new 
structure  on  a  foundation  of  new  values.  We  must 
put  the  body  above  the  spirit;  we  must  unfetter  the 
soul,  which  craves  for  life,  and  awaken  in  it  a  passion 
for  power  and  mastery,  so  that  it  may  satisfy  all  its 
desires  by  force,  in  unlimited  freedom. 

Like  all  the  other  new  gospels  which  run  riot  in 
our  literature,  this  gospel  of  the  "  trans  valuation  of 
values  "  is  not  a  home  product,  nor  did  it  spring  into 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  219 

being  in  response  to  the  demands  of  our  own  life. 
Our  literary  men  found  it  ready-grown  in  a  strange 
soil,  and  thought  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  this  precious 
plant,  without  considering  how  far,  if  at  all,  our  own 
soil  was  suitable  for  its  reception. 

There  arose  in  Germany,  in  this  generation  of  ours, 
a  philosopher-poet,  thinker  and  seer  in  one,  named 
Friedrich  Nietzsche,  who  roused  a  large  section  of 
the  youth  of  Europe  to  enthusiasm  by  a  new  ethical 
doctrine,  based  on  the  "  transvaluation  of  all  values  " 
(Umwertung  alter  Werte).  According  to  him,  the 
function  of  the  human  being,  like  that  of  all  other 
beings,  is  to  develop  and  expand  unceasingly  the 
powers  which  Nature  has  given  him,  in  order  that  the 
specific  type  may  attain  to  the  highest  of  which  it  is 
capable.  Now,  since  the  perfection  of  the  specific  type 
is  only  possible  through  the  "  struggle  for  existence  " 
between  the  individual  members  of  the  species,  in 
which  the  stronger  advances  ever  higher  and  higher, 
recking  nothing  if  his  upward  progress  involves  crush- 
ing and  trampling  on  the  weaker,  it  follows  that  the 
moral  law  is  founded  on  an  absolute  mistake.  It  is 
wrong  to  regard  that  as  good  which  brings  welfare  to 
the  human  race  in  general,  and  lessens  the  amount  of 
suffering,  and  to  call  that  evil  which  has  the  reverse 
effect.  The  moral  law,  working  on  this  basis,  has 
turned  the  world  upside  down;  it  has  degraded  the 
high,  and  exalted  the  low.  The  few  strong  men,  whose 
superior  endowments  of  body  and  mind  fit  them  to 
rise   to    the   top,   and    thus   carry    the    specific   type 


220  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

nearer  to  its  perfection,  are  made  subordinate  to  the 
many  weaklings.  Not  alone  are  they  unable  to  remove 
from  their  path  this  obstacle  to  their  development :  they 
are  actually  commanded  by  morality  to  serve  the  weak, 
to  treat  them  with  sympathy,  to  help  them,  to  do  them 
charity — in  a  word,  to  forgo  the  expansion  of  their 
own  powers  and  their  own  individual  growth,  and  to 
consecrate  themselves  wholly  to  the  service  of  others, 
of  the  despicable  and  worthless  multitude.  The  in- 
evitable result  is  that  the  human  type,  instead  of  striv- 
ing upwards,  instead  of  producing  in  each  successive 
generation  stronger  and  nobler  examples,  and  thus 
approaching  nearer  and  nearer  to  its  perfection,  does 
in  fact  progress  downwards,  dragging  down  even 
the  chosen  few  of  every  generation  to  the  low  level  of 
the  multitude,  and  thus  ever  widening  the  gulf  that 
separates  it  from  its  true  function.  In  order,  then,  to 
restore  the  power  of  self-perfection  to  the  human  type, 
we  need  a  complete  change  of  moral  values.  We  must 
give  back  to  the  idea  of  good  the  meaning  which  it 
had  of  old,  before  "  Jewish  morality  "  overthrew  Greek 
and  Roman  culture.  "  Good  "  is  to  be  applied  to  the 
strong  man,  who  has  both  the  power  to  expand  and 
complete  his  life,  and  the  will  to  be  master  of  his 
world  {dcr  Wille  zur  Macht),  without  considering  at 
all  how  much  the  great  mob  of  inferior  beings  may  lose 
in  the  process.  For  only  he,  only  the  "  Superman  " 
(Ubermensch) ,  is  the  fine  flower  and  the  goal  of  the 
human  race ;  the  rest  were  created  only  to  subserve 
his  end,  to  be  the  ladder  on  which  he  can  climb  up  to 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  221 

his  proper  level.  But  we  are  not  to  regard  the  Super- 
man as  a  sort  of  darling  child  of  Nature,  to  whom 
she  has  given  the  right  to  satisfy  his  desires  and  enjoy 
all  the  good  things  of  the  world  merely  for  his  own 
pleasure.  No:  what  is  honored  in  him  is  the  human 
type,  which  in  him  progresses  and  approaches  nearer 
to  its  perfection.  For  this  reason  the  development  of 
his  powers  and  the  mastery  of  the  world  are  not  only 
a  privilege  for  the  Superman ;  they  are  also  a  high  and 
arduous  duty,  to  which  he  must  sacrifice  his  personal 
happiness  as  he  sacrifices  the  happiness  of  others ;  for 
the  sake  of  which  he  must  be  as  unsparing  of  himself 
as  of  others.  "  Deem  ye  that  I  take  thought  for  my 
happiness?"  says  the  Superman  {Zarathustra)  ;  "  it  is 
for  my  work  that  I  take  thought."  This  work,  the 
advancement  of  the  human  type  in  each  succeeding 
generation,  though  it  be  but  in  a  few  examples,  to  a 
higher  level  than  that  of  the  mass  of  men:  this  work 
is  in  itself  a  desirable  goal,  quite  independently  of  its 
results  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  happiness  or 
misery,  the  advantage  or  disadvantage,  of  the  multi- 
tude. And  so  the  moral  and  cultural  value  of  any 
period  of  history  does  not  depend,  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, on  the  level  of  happiness  and  culture  reached 
by  the  generality  of  men  in  that  period,  but  precisely 
on  the  extent  to  which  the  specific  type,  as  manifested 
in  one  or  more  individuals,  is  raised  above  the  general 
level. 

This  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
"  transvaluation   of  values "   in   its   original   German 


222  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

form.^  It  desires  not  merely  to  change  morality  in 
certain  details — to  pronounce  some  things  evil  which 
were  regarded  as  good,  and  the  reverse — but  to  alter 
the  very  foundation  of  morality,  the  actual  standard 
by  reference  to  which  things  are  pronounced  good  or 
evil.  Hitherto  the  standard  has  been  the  lessening  of 
pain  and  increasing  of  happiness  among  the  mass  of 
human  beings.  Everything  that  was  calculated  to 
assist  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  towards  the  attain- 
ment of  that  object,  whether  directly  or  indirectly, 
whether  at  once  or  in  the  near  or  distant  future,  has 
been  good;  everything  that  was  calculated  from  any 
point  of  view  to  produce  the  reverse  effect  has  been 
evil.  Now  we  are  told  that  moral  qualities  and  actions 
are  not  to  be  estimated  at  all  by  reference  to  their 
effects  in  relation  to  the  mass  of  men ;  that  there  is 
one  thing  which  is  essentially  good,  which  is  an  end 
in  itself,  and  needs  no  testing  by  any  external  stand- 
ard— ^and  that  is  the  free  development  of  individuality 
in  the  elect  of  the  human  race,  and  the  ascent  of  the 
specific  type  in  them  to  a  level  higher  than  that  of  the 
generality  of  men.  Thus — as  Simmel  rightly  points 
out — Nietzsche   rendered  himself   immune   from   any 

'  In  Nietzsche's  own  works  his  teaching  is  enveloped  in  a 
cloud  of  extravagances  and  poetic  exubei  ances.  They  are  also 
full  of  contradictions  in  points  of  detail,  so  that  it  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  extract  from  them  a  single  coherent  system.  So  far  as 
this  is  possible,  it  has  been  done  excellently  by  that  acute  phi- 
losopher Georg  Simmel  in  his  essay  "  Friedrich  Nietzsche," 
printed  in  the  Zeitschrift  fiir  Philosophie  und  philosophische 
Kritik,  vol.  107,  part  2. 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  223 

criticism  based  on  logic  or  experience.  All  criticism 
of  that  kind  must  of  necessity  rest  on  the  old  standard 
which  he  will  not  accept.  It  can  only  point  to  the  in- 
jury which  such  a  theory  will  inflict  on  human  life  in 
general,  to  its  evil  effects  on  the  diffusion  of  culture, 
and  so  forth.  But  according  to  the  theory  in  question 
the  whole  life  and  the  whole  culture  of  the  mass  of 
men  cannot  weigh  against  a  single  Superman. 

We  see  now  whence  our  own  literary  men  got  the 
idea  of  the  "  transvaluation  of  values,"  and  what  they 
have  done  with  it.  They  found  a  new  doctrine,  uni- 
versal in  its  scope,  and  certainly  calculated  to  appeal 
to  men  of  imagination ;  and  its  attraction  for  them 
produced  a  desire  to  propound  a  similar  new  doctrine, 
of  special  application  to  the  Jews.  So  far  I  have 
no  fault  to  find  with  them.  The  same  thing  has  often 
been  done  before,  from  the  Alexandrian  period  to 
our  own  day ;  and  Judaism  has  more  than  once  been 
made  richer  in  new  conceptions  and  stimulating 
ideas.  But  here,  as  in  every  process  which  demands 
artistic  skill,  the  essential  thing  is  that  the  artist  should 
understand  the  possibilities  of  his  material,  and  know 
how  to  subdue  it  to  the  form.  He  must  not  be  mastered 
by  his  material,  and  let  it  turn  under  his  hands  into  a 
useless  piece  of  ware. 

More  than  a  year  ago  I  crossed  swords  with  these 
young  writers,  who  complain  of  a  spiritual  "  cleft " 
in  their  inner  life,  and  think  that  they  can  bridge 
over  the  gap  by  introducing  "  European "  ideas 
into    Hebrew    literature;    and    I    said    to    them    at 


224  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

that  time :  "  It  is  not  sufficient  for  us  simply  to 
import  the  foreign  material;  we  must  first  of  all 
adapt  and  assimilate  it  to  our  national  genius. 
We  see,  for  example,  that  the  ideas  of  Friedrich 
Nietzsche  have  captured  many  young  Jews,  and  have 
come  into  conflict  with  their  Judaism,  and  produced 
a  cleft  in  their  inner  life.  What  are  we  to  do?  Let  us 
analyze  these  ideas,  and  divide  them  into  their  con- 
stituent parts,  in  order  to  discover  what  it  is  in  them 
that  attracts,  and  what  it  is  that  is  at  variance  with 
Judaism.  This  analysis  may  prove  to  us  at  last  that 
there  is  no  essential  connection  between  these  two 
parts — that  the  first  is  a  human  element,  while  the 
second  is  simply  German  or  Aryan,  and  has  become 
associated  with  the  other  only  because  .they  happened 
to  fuse  in  the  mind  of  a  particular  man  who  was  also 
a  German.  Then  we  shall  be  able  to  give  these  ideas 
a  new  form ;  to  free  the  human  element  from  its  sub- 
ordination to  the  German  form,  and  subordinate  it 
instead  to  our  own  form.  Thus  we  shall  have  the 
necessary  assimilation,  and  we  shall  be  importing  into 
our  literature  ideas  which  are  new,  hut  not  foreign."  ^ 
If  our  Nietzscheans  had  adopted  that  course,  they 
would  have  found  that  their  master's  doctrine  does,  in 
fact,  contain  two  separable  elements — one  human  and 
universal,  the  other  merely  Aryan;  and  that  the  first 
of  these,  so  far  from  being  opposed  to  Judaism, 
actually  strengthens  Judaism. 

'See  the  essay  called  "  Good  Advice"  [not  included  in  this 
translation]. 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  22s 

The  human  element  in  the  doctrine  of  the  '*  trans- 
valuation  of  values  "  is  that  change  in  the  moral  stand- 
ard which  I  have  described  above.  The  end  of  moral 
good  is  not  the  uplifting  of  the  human  race  in  general, 
but  the  raising  of  the  human  type  in  its  highest  mani- 
festations above  the  general  level.  This  postulate  is, 
as  I  have  said,  one  of  those  fundamental  principles 
which  each  man  admits  or  denies  according  to  his 
taste  and  inclination,  and  which  cannot  be  met  by  argu- 
ments derived  from  other  premises.  But  if  this  postu- 
late cannot  be  tested  by  any  standard  external  to  itself, 
that  very  fact  imposes  a  restriction  on  those  who  lay 
it  down.  It  is  impossible  for  them  to  define  clearly 
and  convincingly  the  nature  of  that  superior  .type  which 
they  desiderate.  Seeing  that  the  goal  is  the  mere 
existence  of  the  Superman,  and  not  his  efifect  on  the 
world,  we  have  no  criterion  by  which  to  distinguish 
those  human  qualities  of  which  the  development  marks 
the  progress  of  the  type,  from  those  which  are  signs 
of  backwardness  and  retrogression.  Here  again,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  postulate  itself,  we  are  dependent 
on  our  esthetic  taste  and  our  moral  bent.  Nietzsche 
himself,  it  is  .true,  exalts  physical  force  and  external 
beauty;  he  longs  for  "the  fair  beast"  {die  blonde 
Bestie) — the  strong,  beautiful  beast  which  shall  rule 
the  world,  and  act  in  all  things  according  to  its  will. 
But  it  is  obvious  that  this  conception  of  the  Superman 
does  not  follow  by  logical  necessity  from  his  funda- 
mental postulate.  It  is  no  longer  the  philosopher  as 
such  who  speaks;  it  is  the  man  of  Aryan  race,  who, 

IS 


226  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

with  his  excessive  regard  for  physical  power  and 
beauty,  depicts  his  ideal  according  to  his  own  taste. 
We  are,  therefore,  at  liberty  to  suppose  that  this  same 
Nietzsche,  if  his  taste  had  been  Hebraic,  might  still 
have  changed  the  moral  standard,  and  made  the  Super- 
man an  end  in  himself,  but  would  in  that  case  have 
attributed  to  his  Superman  quite  different  character- 
istics— the  expansion  of  moral  power,  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  bestial  instincts,  the  striving  after  truth  and 
righteousness  in  thought  and  deed,  the  eternal  warfare 
against  falsehood  and  wickedness :  in  a  word,  that 
moral  ideal  which  Judaism  has  impressed  on  us.  And 
what  is  there  to  prove  that  the  change  in  the  moral 
standard  necessarily  involves  changing  the  Hebraic 
outlook,  and  substituting  the  Aryan :  that  man  be- 
comes Superman  not  through  moral  strength  and  the 
beauty  of  the  soul,  but  only  through  the  physical 
strength  and  the  external  beauty  of  the  "  fair  beast  "  ? 
Those  who  are  at  all  expert  in  this  matter  do  not 
need  to  be  told  that  there  is  no  necessity  now  for  the 
creation  of  a  Jewish  Nietzscheism  of  this  kind,  because 
it  has  existed  for  centuries.  Nietzsche,  as  a  German, 
may  be  pardoned  for  having  failed  to  understand 
Judaism,  and  having  confused  it  with  another  doctrine, 
which  sprang  out  of  it  and  went  off  on  another  track. 
But  his  Jewish  disciples  ought  to  know  that  Judaism 
has  never  based  itself  on  mercy  alone,  and  has  never 
made  its  Superman  subordinate  to  the  mass  of  men, 
as  though  the  whole  aim  and  object  of  his  existence 
were  simply  to  increase  the  happiness  of  the  multi- 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  227 

tude.  We  all  know  the  importance  of  the  Zaddik, 
the  "  righteous  man,"  in  our  ethical  literature,  from 
the  Talmud  and  the  Midrashim  to  the  literature  of 
Hasidism :  we  know  that,  so  far  from  his  having  been 
created  for  the  sake  of  others,  "  the  whole  world  was 
only  created  for  his  sake,"  and  that  he  is  an  end  for 
himself.  Phrases  like  this,  as  is  well  known,  are  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  our  literature ;  and  they  did 
not  remain  mere  expressions  of  individual  opinion, 
mere  philosophic  tags,  but  obtained  popular  currency, 
and  became  generally  accepted  principles  of  morality. 

More  than  this :  if  we  search  deeper,  we  shall  find 
this  idea,  in  a  wider  presentation,  at  the  very  basis  of 
the  Jewish  national  consciousness. 

Nietzsche  himself  complained,  in  his  last  book,  that 
hitherto  there  had  been  no  attempt  to  educate  men  de- 
liberately with  the  object  of  producing  the  Superman. 
If  such  a  man  happened  occasionally  to  be  produced, 
this  was  merely  "a  happy  accident,  not  the  result  of 
conscious  will  "  ^  Indeed,  it  is  easy  enough  to  depict 
the  Superman  in  lofty  poetic  images  that  fire  the  imagi- 
nation ;  but  if  he  is  to  be  a  phenomenon  of  constant  oc- 
currence, and  not  merely  an  occasional  accident,  the 
surrounding  conditions  of  life  must  be  adapted  to  that 
end.  You  cannot  get  water  from  a  rock,  or  fruit  from 
the  parched  soil  of  the  desert.  When  all  is  said,  man 
is  a  social  animal ;  and  even  the  soul  of  the  Superman 
is  a  product  of  society,  and  cannot  wholly  free  itself 

^Comp.  A.  Riehl,  "Friedrich  Nietzsche"  (Stuttgart,  1897), 
p.  125. 


228  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

from  the  moral  atmosphere  in  which  it  has  grown 
and  developed.  If  we  agree,  then,  that  the  Superina;r 
is  the  goal  of  all  things,  we  must  needs  agree  also  that 
an  essential  condition  of  the  attainment  of  this  goal  is 
the  Superwafz'on:  that  is  to  say,  there  must  be  a  single 
nation  better  adapted  than  other  nations,  by  virtue  of 
its  inherent  characteristics,  to  moral  development,  and 
ordering  its  whole  life  in  accordance  with  a  moral  law 
which  stands  higher  than  the  common  type.  This 
nation  will  then  serve  as  the  soil  essentially  and 
supremely  fitted  to  produce  that  fairest  of  all  fruits — 
the  Superman. 

This  idea  opens  up  a  wide  prospect,  in  which  Juda- 
ism appears  in  a  new  and  splendid  light.  Many  of  the 
"  shortcomings  "  of  Judaism,  by  which  strangers  judge 
us,  and  which  our  own  scholars  try  to  deny  or  excuse, 
become,  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  this  idea,  positive 
superiorities,  which  are  a  credit  to  Judaism,  and  need 
neither  denial  nor  excuse. 

It  is  almost  universally  admitted  that  the  Jews  have 
a  genius  for  morality,  and  in  this  respect  are  superior  to 
all  other  nations.^  It  matters  not  how  this  happened, 
or  in  what  way  this  trait  developed :  we  certainly  find 
that  in  the  very  earliest  times  the  Jewish  people  be- 
came conscious  of  its  superiority  in  this  respect  over 
the  surrounding  nations.  This  consciousness  found  its 
expression,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  that  age, 
in  the  religious  dogma  that  God  had  chosen  out  Israel 

'  Nietzsche  himself  often  admits  this :  see,  for  instance,  Zur 
Geschichte-der  Moral  (Leipzig,  1894),  p.  51. 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  229 

"  to  make  him  high  above  all  nations."  But  this  elec- 
tion of  Israel  was  not  to  be  a  domination  based  on 
force,  for  Israel  is  "  the  fewest  of  all  peoples."  It  was 
for  moral  development  that  Israel  was  chosen  by  God, 
"  to  be  a  peculiar  people  unto  Himself  ....  and  to 
keep  all  His  commandments  " ;  that  is,  to  give  con- 
crete expression  in  every  generation  to  the  highest 
type  of  morality,  to  submit  always  to  the  yoke  of  the 
most  exacting  moral  obligations,  and  this  without  any 
regard  to  the  gain  or  loss  of  the  rest  of  mankind,  but 
solely  for  the  sake  of  the  existence  of  this  supreme 
type.^  This  consciousness  of  its  moral  election  has 
been  preserved  by  the  Jewish  people  throughout  its 
history,  and  has  been  its  solace  in  all  its  sufferings. 
The  Jews  have  never  tried,  save  in  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances, to  increase  their  numbers  by  conversion; 
not,  as  their  enemies  aver,  out  of  jealousy,  nor  yet,  as 
their  apologists  plead  in  excuse,  out  of  tolerance,  but 
simply  because  it  is  a  characteristic  of  the  superior  type 
"  that  it  will  not  consent  to  lower  the  value  of  its  own 
duties  by  making  them  the  duties  of  all  men;  that  it 
will  not  shuffle  off  or  share  with  others  its  own  respon- 
sibility." 2  Judaism  does  indeed  present,  in  this 
respect,  a  unique  phenomenon.  It  distinguishes  the 
Jews  from  the  rest  of  mankind  only  in  that  it  imposes 
on  them  exacting  and  arduous  obligations;  whereas 

'  Nietzsche  says  somewhere,  that  under  certain  conditions  it 
is  possible  for  whole  families,  or  even  whole  tribes,  to  rise  to  the 
level  of  the  Superman  (Riehl,  ibid. ). 

'^ Nietzsche,  Jenseits  von  Gut  und  Bose  (Leipzig,  1894),  p.  264. 


230  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

for  the  non-Jews  the  yoke  is  lightened,  and  they  are 
allowed  the  reward  of  a  future  life  for  the  mere  ful- 
filment of  the  most  elementary  moral  duties,  the  so- 
called  "  seven  commandments  given  to  the  sons  of 
Noah."  It  is  only  during  the  last  century,  since  the 
French  Revolution  raised  the  banner  of  equality  and 
fraternity  among  all  men,  and  made  the  general  well- 
being  the  supreme  moral  ideal,  that  Jewish  apologists 
have  begun  to  be  ashamed  of  the  idea  of  Israel's  elec- 
tion in  its  old  sense.  Finding  this  idea  opposed  to 
that  of  absolute  equality  and  the  pursuit  of  the  general 
well-being,  they  have  tried  to  adapt  Judaism  to  modern 
requirements  by  inventing  the  famous  theory  of  "  the 
mission  of  Israel  among  the  nations."  Thus  they  rec- 
oncile the  idea  of  the  national  election  with  that  of 
human  equality,  by  making  the  one  a  means  to  the 
other.  Israel  is,  indeed  (so  they  argue),  the  chosen 
people ;  but  for  what  end  was  he  chosen  ?  To  spread 
good-will  and  well-being  throughout  the  world,  by 
teaching  mankind  the  way  of  life  according  to  that 
true  Law  which  was  entrusted  to  him  for  this  very 
purpose.  Now  there  is  no  need  to  repeat  here  the 
oft-repeated  criticism  of  this  compromise,  that  it  has 
no  foundation  in  actuality,  and  rests  entirely  on  a 
metaphysical  dogma.  It  is  enough  to  point  out  that 
the  Jewish  people  as  a  whole  has  always  interpreted 
its  "  mission  "  simply  as  the  performance  of  its  own 
duties,  without  regard  to  the  external  world,  and  has 
regarded  its  election,  from  the  earliest  times  to  the 
present  day,  as  the  end  of  all  else,  and  not  as  a  means 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  231 

to  the  happiness  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  Prophets 
no  doubt  gave  utterance  to  the  hope  that  Judaism 
would  exert  an  influence  for  good  on  the  moral  con- 
dition of  the  other  nations;  but  their  idea  was  that 
this  result  would  follow  naturally  from  the  existence 
among  the  Jews  of  the  highest  type  of  morality,  not 
that  the  Jews  existed  solely  for  the  purpose  of  striv- 
ing to  exert  this  influence.  It  is  the  nations  who  are 
to  say,  "  Come  ye  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain 
of  the  Lord,  ....  and  He  will  teach  us  of  His 
ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  His  paths."  We  do  not 
find  that  Israel  is  to  say,  "  Come,  let  us  go  out  to  the 
nations  and  teach  them  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  that  they 
may  walk  in  His  paths." 

This  idea  of  Israel  as  the  Supernation  might  be 
expanded  and  amplified  into  a  complete  system.  For 
the  profound  tragedy  of  our  spiritual  life  in  the  pres- 
ent day  is  perhaps  only  a  result  of  our  failure  to  justify 
in  practice  the  potentialities  of  our  election.  On  the 
one  hand,  there  still  lives  within  us,  though  it  be  only 
in  the  form  of  an  instinctive  feeling,  a  belief  in  that 
moral  fitness  for  which  we  were  chosen  from  all  the 
nations,  and  in  that  national  mission  which  consists 
in  living  the  highest  type  of  moral  life,  in  being  the 
moral  Supernation.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  since 
the  day  when  we  left  the  Ghetto,  and  started  to 
partake  of  the  world's  life  and  its  civilization,  we  can- 
not help  seeing  that  our  superiority  is  potential  merely. 
Actually  we  are  not  superior  to  other  nations  even  in 
the  sphere  of  morality.    We  have  been  unable  to  ful- 


2ZZ  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

fil  our  mission  in  exile,  because  we  could  not  make 
our  lives  a  true  expression  of  our  own  character,  inde- 
pendent of  the  opinion  or  the  will  of  others.  And 
so  it  may  even  be  that  many  of  our  latter-day  Zionists, 
who  base  their  Zionism  on  economic  and  political 
grounds,  and  scoff  at  the  national  "  election  "  and  the 
moral  "  mission  " — it  may  even  be  that  many  of  these 
have  been  driven  to  Zionism  simply  by  force  of  this 
contrast  between  the  possibilities  and  the  actualities  of 
Jewish  history :  being  forced  thereby,  all  unconsciously, 
to  seek  some  firm  resting-place  for  their  people,  in 
order  that  it  may  have  the  opportunity  once  more  of 
developmg  its  genius  for  morality,  and  fulfilling  its 
"  mission  "  as  the  Supernation. 

But  enough.  I  meant  no  more  than  to  show  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  "  transvaluation  of  values  "  is  really 
capable  of  being  assimilated  by  Judaism,  and  of  enrich- 
ing Judaism  without  doing  violence  to  its  spirit,  by 
introducing  ''  ideas  which  are  new,  but  not  foreign," 
or,  rather,  by  introducing  ideas  which  are  not  even 
essentially  new.  For,  more  than  eight  hundred  years 
ago  there  lived  a  Jewish  philosopher-poet,  Rabbi 
Jehudah  Halevi,  who  recognized  the  inner  meaning 
and  value  of  the  election  of  Israel,  and  made  it  the 
foundation  of  his  system,  very  much  on  the  lines  of 
what  I  have  said  above,  though  in  a  different  style.^ 

And  now  what  have  our  young  writers  done  with 
this  doctrine? 

They  have  neglected  what  is  essentially  original  in 

'  See  his  Kuzari,  bk.  i. 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  233 

it,  and  have  seized  only  on  the  new  phrase  ^nd  the 
Aryan  element  which  its  author  introduced:  and  with 
these  they  come  to  their  own  people,  as  with  a  medi- 
cine to  cure  the  diseases  of  its  old  age.  For  them  the 
essential  thing  is  not  the  emancipation  of  the  superior 
type  from  its  subservience  to  the  multitude ;  it  is  the 
emancipation  of  physical  life  from  its  subservience  to 
the  limiting  power  of  the  spirit.  Such  a  point  of  view 
as  this  can  never  ally  itself  with  Judaism.  No  wonder, 
then,  that  they  feel  a  *'  cleft  in  their  souls,"  and  begin 
to  cry,  "  Transvaluation !  New  values !  Let  the  Book 
give  place  to  the  sword,  and  the  Prophets  to  the  fair 
beast !  "  This  cry  has  become  especially  prominent 
during  the  last  year;  and  we  are  told  every  day  that 
our  whole  world  must  be  destroyed  root  and  branch, 
and  rebuilt  all  over  again.  But  we  are  never  told  how 
you  can  destroy  with  one  breath  the  national  founda- 
tion of  an  ancient  people,  or  how  you  can  build  up  a 
new  life  for  a  nation  after  destroying  the  very  essence 
of  its  being,  and  stifling  its  historic  soul. 

One  can  understand — and  one  can  tolerate — the  indi- 
vidual Jew  who  is  captivated  by  the  Superman  in 
Nietzsche's  sense ;  who  bows  the  knee  to  Zarathustra, 
throws  off  his  allegiance  to  the  Prophets,  and  goes 
about  to  regulate  his  own  private  life  in  accordance 
with  these  new  values.  But  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand, and  still  more  difficult  to  tolerate,  the  extraor- 
dinary proceeding  of  these  men,  who  offer  such  a  new 
law  of  life  as  this  to  the  whole  nation,,  and  are  simple 
enough  to  think  that  it  can  be  accepted  by  a  people 


234  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

which,  almost  from  the  moment  of  its  first  appearance 
in  the  world's  history,  has  existed  only  to  protest 
vehemently  and  unceasingly  on  behalf  of  the  rights 
of  the  spirit  against  those  of  the  strong  arm  and 
the  sword ;  which,  from  time  immemorial  to  the  pres- 
ent day,  has  derived  all  its  spiritual  strength  simply 
from  its  steadfast  faith  in  its  moral  mission,  in  its  obli- 
gation and  its  capacity  to  approach  nearer  than  other 
nations  to  the  ideal  of  moral  perfection.  This  people, 
they  fondly  imagine,  could  suddenly,  after  thousands 
of  years,  change  its  values,  forgo  its  national  pre- 
eminence in  the  moral  sphere,  in  order  to  become  "  the 
tail  of  the  lions  "  in  the  sphere  of  the  sword ;  could 
overthrow  the  mighty  temple  which  it  has  built  to  the 
God  of  righteousness,  in  order  to  set  up  in  its  place 
a  mean  and  lowly  altar  (it  has  no  strength  for  more) 
to  the  idol  of  physical  force. 

There  is  a  further  point  that  requires  mention. 
These  writers  go  much  further  than  their  master  in 
waging  war  against  the  Book  and  all  that  it  contains — 
that  is,  against  the  laws  which  set  a  limit  to  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  individual  will — and  in  lavishing  affection 
on  the  dissenters  and  the  rebels  of  the  wilder- 
ness, who  refused  to  subordinate  the  "  glory  of  life  " 
to  abstract  laws,  and  to  change  the  fleshpots  of  Egypt 
for  the  heavy  yoke  of  moral  obligations.  Nietzsche 
himself,  for  all  his  worship  of  the  strong  arm  and 
the  glory  of  physical  life,  regards  righteousness  as 
the  highest  perfection  attainable  on  earth :  so  much 
so,  that  he  finds  it  hard  to  believe  that  it  is  within  the 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  23s 

power  of  man,  even  of  the  Superman,  to  conquer  the 
feehng  of  hate  and  revenge,  and  to  be  guided  by  abso- 
lute justice  in  his  relations  with  friends  and  foes  alike. 
Hence  he  finds  it  a  great  advantage  that  righteousness 
should  be  embodied  in  fixed  abstract  laws,  which  enable 
a  man  to  test  the  justice  of  his  actions  in  relation  to 
the  objective  rule,  without  being  compelled  to  remem- 
ber, in  the  moment  of  his  self-examination,  the  living 
enemy,  who  arouses  his  passions,  so  that  his  judgment 
is  obscured  by  his  subjective  inclinations.^ 

And  here  I  am  reminded  that  these  writers  of  ours 
are  in  the  habit  of  paying  me  an  undeserved  honor. 
They  applaud  me  because  in  one  of  my  essays  ^  I,  too, 
have  protested  against  our  being  "  the  people  of  the 
Book."  To  be  sure,  they  think  that  I  am  inconsistently 
denying  my  own  "  heresy  "  when  I  couple  this  protest 
with  praise  of  our  "  national  possessions  "  and  their 
natural  development,  and  do  not  demand,  as  they  do, 
the  complete  destruction  of  the  Book.  But  here  again 
they  have  simply  found  a  new  phrase  and  seized  on  it, 
without  examining  its  true  inwardness.  My  regret 
was  not  for  the  existence  of  the  Book  in  itself,  but 
for  its  petrifaction.  I  lamented  the  fact  that  its  de- 
velopment has  been  arrested,  that  it  no  longer  corre- 
sponds to  the  inner  moral  feeling,  as  it  used  to  do,  in 
the  earlier  days  of  Jewish  history,  when  "  the  voice 
of  God  in  the  heart  of  man  "  used  to  draw  its  inspira- 
tion direct  from  the  phenomena  of  life  and  nature, 

*  Genealogie,  pp.  82-84. 

*  "The  Law  in  the  Soul."   [Not  included  in  this  translation.] 


236  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

and  the  Book  itself  was  compelled  to  change  its  con- 
tents little  by  little,  imperceptibly,  in  order  to  conform 
to  the  moral  consciousness  of  the  people.  And  so  I 
was  not  advocating  the  dominance  of  the  sword  over 
the  Book;  I  was  pleading  for  the  dominance  of  that 
moral  force  which  was  implanted  in  our  people  cen- 
turies ago,  which  itself  produced  the  Book,  and  re- 
newed the  spirit  of  the  Book  in  each  successive  period, 
according  to  its  own  needs.  It  was  only  after  a  long 
spell  of  exile  that  much  suffering  quelled  the  spirit, 
and  the  moral  feeling  practically  ceased  to  develop, 
so  that  there  were  no  further  changes  made  in  the 
contents  of  the  Book,  and  the  people  became  abso- 
lutely enslaved  to  a  series  of  lifeless  letters.  And 
it  is  in  accordance  with  this  view,  and  not  in  con- 
tradiction to  it,  that  I  maintained  in  the  essay  in 
question,  as  I  always  maintain,  that  there  is  no  call  for 
uprooting,  or  for  proclaiming  the  change  of  values  with 
the  blare  of  trumpets ;  but  only  for  the  introduction 
of  what  I  have  called  "  a  new  current  of  life  "  into 
our  spiritual  world :  this  new  current  being  "  a  living 
desire  for  the  unity  of  the  nation,  for  its  rebirth,  and 
its  unfettered  development  along  its  own  lines,  as  one 
of  the  social  units  of  humanity."  This  new  current 
would  bring  fresh  life  to  our  people,  and  would  restore 
to  it  the  faculty  of  moral  self-development;  and  then, 
as  a  natural  consequence,  the  Book,  too,  would  develop 
once  more,  responding  to  the  true  needs  and  demands 
of  the  national  spirit,  and  not  to  the  shrieks  of  a  few 
imaginative  young  men,  who  have  eaten  the  sour  grapes 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  237 

of  a  foreign  philosophy,  and  want  the  whole  nation's 
teeth  to  be  set  on  edge. 

On  more  general  grounds,  too,  these  writers  of  ours 
should  have  studied  the  laws  of  historical  evolution 
a  little  more  deeply  before  trying  their  hands  at  pull- 
ing down  and  building  up.  It  is  true  that  Nietzsche 
himself  hated  historians,  and  stigmatized  Darwin  and 
Spencer,  the  authors  of  the  evolutionary  theory,  as 
mediocrities.  But  this  did  not  prevent  even  him  from 
inventing  historical  hypotheses  in  order  to  explain 
the  progress  of  morality,  or  from  taking  the  comer- 
stone  of  his  new  system  from  Darwin.  These  writers 
of  ours  seem  to  regard  the  moral  code  of  each  nation 
as  something  external,  manufactured  from  beginning 
to  end  by  certain  individuals,  who  were  fully  conscious 
of  what  they  were  doing,  and  had  a  definite  end  in 
view.  In  order,  therefore,  that  this  moral  code  may 
be  changed — or,  rather,  in  order  that  it  may  be  utterly 
destroyed,  and  another  set  up  in  its  place — all  that  is 
needed  is  that  certain  other  individuals  should  pro- 
claim, loudly  and  savagely,  that  a  change  of  values  is 
imperative.  An  idea  of  this  kind  was  all  very  well 
years  ago,  in  the  time  of  Rousseau  and  his  school. 
But  these  modernest  of  modern  writers,  who  consider 
themselves  the  writers  of  the  future,  ought  to  know 
that  you  cannot  manufacture  a  new  moral  code  for  a 
nation,  any  more  than  you  can  manufacture  it  a  new 
language.  The  laws  of  morality,  like  those  of  lan- 
guage, are  an  outcome  of  the  national  character ;  they 
are  a  fruit  which  ripens  little  by  little  through  the 


238  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

ages,  under  the  influence  of  innumerable  causes,  some 
permanent,  some  transient,  not  in  accordance  with  a 
system  laid  down  and  defined  at  the  outset.  Hence  it 
results  that  in  both  cases  logical  contradictions  abound, 
the  norm  and  the  exception  live  side  by  side.  No 
man  has  the  power  to  pull  them  down  and  build  them 
up  according  to  his  desire  and  taste :  they  change  con- 
stantly of  their  own  accord,  reflecting  the  changes  in 
the  nation's  circumstances,  character,  and  needs.  Now, 
despite  all  this,  Volapuk  as  a  language  has  some  value ; 
it  may  serve  as  an  artificial  aid  in  time  of  need.  But 
a  moral  Volapiik  is  a  piece  of  utter  fatuity,  as  un- 
profitable as  it  is  unnecessary ;  it  serves  no  purpose  but 
to  waste  time,  and  to  confuse  ardent  young  men  who 
are  athirst  for  exciting  novelties.  The  inventor  of 
Volapuk,  wishing  his  language  to  be  accepted  univers- 
ally, found  it  necessary  to  expunge  the  letter  r  from 
his  alphabet,  because  it  cannot  be  pronounced  by — the 
Chinese.  But  the  authors  of  our  moral  Volapiik  do 
not  trouble  to  inquire  as  to  the  capabilities  of  the 
nation  for  which  they  are  building:  they  hold  a  pistol 
to  your  head,  and  ofifer  you  the  blessing  of  a  new  law, 
against  which  every  fibre  of  your  being  revolts,  without 
first  inquiring  whether  you  can  accept  it. 

"  It  is  a  thing  of  the  highest  importance  to  instil 
into  the  minds  of  the  people  ....  that  feeling  of 
reverence  which  will  teach  them  that  there  are  certain 
things  which  they  may  not  touch,  certain  sanctuaries 
which  they  may  not  approach  without  removing  their 
shoes,  which  must  be  preserved  from  the  hand  of  pro- 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  239 

fanation.  .  .  .  And,  on  the  other  side,  when  we 
consider  the  so-called  '  men  of  culture,'  those  who 
believe  in  *  modern  ideas,'  there  is  nothing  that  so 
disgusts  us  as  their  apparent  lack  of  a  sense  of  shame, 
and  that  easy  effrontery  of  hand  and  eye  with  which 
they  maul  and  finger  everything." 

That  is  a  hard  saying,  but  it  is  not  one  for  which  I 
need  ask  pardon  of  our  Nietzscheans.  The  saying  is 
not  mine:  it  comes  from  their  own  Bible.  It  was 
Nietzsche  who  wrote  these  words;  and  they  were 
directed  against  those  who  lay  irreverent  hands  on 
the  Hebrew  Book — on  the  Scriptures.  "  Such  books  as 
this,"  he  adds,  "  with  their  fathomless  depth  and  their 
priceless  worth,  need  an  external  authority,  backed  by 
force,  to  protect  them,  in  order  that  they  may  remain 
in  existence  for  all  the  thousands  of  years  which  are 
necessary  before  their  wealth  can  be  exhausted."  ^ 

These  are  the  master's  words.  Hearing,  after  this, 
the  words  of  his  Jewish  pupils,  one  cannot  resist  the 
thought  that  it  is  better  for  our  children  to  wander 
abroad  themselves,  and  draw  the  noxious  water  from 
the  fountainhead,  than  to  get  it  at  second  hand  in  this 
Hebrew  "  cleft  "  literature,  which  promises  to  reconcile 
the  claims  of  Judaism  with  those  of  human  life  in 
general. 

[A  criticism  of  the  foregoing  essay  appeared  in  Ha-Shiloah, 
to  which  Ahad  Ha-' Am  replied  in  the  same  journal.    The  fol- 

^Jenseits,  p.  254. 


240  THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES 

lowing  paragraph  from  his  reply  puts  very  clearly  the  point  at 
issue  between  the  "young  men"  and  himself.] 

I  have  never  yet  discovered  what  phraseology  or 
what  style  must  be  used  to  convince  people  of  the 
truth  that  a  belief  in  the  fundamental  morality  of  the 
Jewish  spirit  is  not  in  the  least  opposed  to  the  ideal 
of  the  national  revival,  but  rather  affords  the  true  his- 
torical basis  and  logical  substructure  of  that  ideal. 
Times  beyond  number,  in  all  shapes  and  forms,  have 
I  urged  this  view.  Indeed,  if  I  mistake  not,  I  was  one 
of  the  first  to  point  out  the  absolute  necessity  of 
awakening  our  dormant  genius  for  morality  in  order 
to  overcome  the  petrifaction  which  has  seized  on  our 
life,  and  to  give  us  an  immediate  link  with  nature, 
without  the  intervention  of  "  the  Book."  As  regards 
the  very  point  on  which  the  author  of  this  article 
attacks  me,  I  have  explained  again  and  again  that 
there  is  no  inconsistency  between  the  striving  after  a 
healthy  national  life  and  the  cultivation  of  our  moral 
strength.  And  yet  the  champions  of  our  "  young 
men  "  can  still  go  on  repeating  that  "  we  must  pay 
attention  also  to  our  physical  resources,  and  strive 
after  a  national  life  like  all  other  nations."  As  though 
that  were  anything  new!  What  they  have  discovered 
is  not  the  need  for  a  change,  for  a  return  to  nature: 
that  idea  they  found  ready-made  in  books  of  the  old- 
fashioned  moral  school.  The  real  foundation  of  their 
theory  is  the  antithesis  between  this  need  and  the  bent 
towards  morality,  which  has  been  characteristic  of  the 
Jewish  spirit  since  the  Jews  existed.     Consequently, 


THE  TRANSVALUATION  OF  VALUES  241 

those  who  wish  to  defend  them,  and  to  reply  to  the 
criticisms  of  their  opponents,  are  bound  to  demon- 
strate the  reahty  of  that  antithesis,  and  the  necessity 
for  the  destruction  of  this  moral  bent.  To  come  and 
argue,  on  behalf  of  the  "  young  men,"  simply  that 
we  stand  in  need  of  a  healthy  national  life,  like  all 
other  nations,  is  merely  to  bring  coals  to  Newcastle; 
and  to  add  naively  that  the  existence  of  this  need 
proves  "  the  moral  theory  of  Rabbi  Jehudah  Halevi " 
obsolete — this  shows  that  the  critic  is  unacquainted 
with  what  he  is  criticising.  For  the  whole  object  of 
my  arguments  has  been  to  show  that  there  is  no  incom- 
patibility between  the  need  for  a  national  revival  and 
the  "  moral "  theory  of  Judaism,  and  that  this  theory 
does  not  necessarily  involve  acceptance  of  the  point  of 
view  indicated  by  such  phrases  as  "  the  people  of  the 
Book,"  and  "  exceptions  to  all  historical  laws."  It  is, 
on  the  contrary,  actually  opposed  to  that  point  of  view, 
because  it  attempts  to  apply  universal  historical  laws  to 
Jewish  life,  and  for  that  very  reason  cannot  stomach  the 
Ideas  of  our  "  young  men,"  who  ride  roughshod  over 
history  and  its  universal  laws. 


z6 


A  NEW  SAVIOR 

(1901) 

The  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  Jewish 
Colonization  Association,  held  at  Paris  in  October  last, 
at  which  the  fate  of  the  Jewish  agricultural  laborers 
in  Palestine  was  decided,  is  now  a  matter  of  history. 
These  unfortunate  laborers  sent  a  deputation  to  Paris, 
to  call  on  the  members  of  the  Council  before  the  meet- 
ing, and  explain  the  position  to  each  one  separately, 
so  that  he  might  be  able  to  consider  the  matter  at 
leisure,  and  need  not  say  a  hasty  Amen  to  other  people's 
views  at  the  meeting  itself.  There  were  gentlemen 
among  the  members  of  the  Council  who  received  the 
deputation  courteously,  and  listened  to  their  sugges- 
tions with  patience  and  sympathy,  though  they  knew 
beforehand  that  these  suggestions  had  no  chance  of 
being  carried  out.  But  one  member  shut  his  door  in 
the  face  of  the  humble  Palestinians,  and  gave  them, 
instead  of  spoken  comfort,  a  written  insult — a  proced- 
ure which  was  hardly  becoming  to  a  cultured  aristocrat 
of  his  type.  He  thus  laid  himself  open  to  the  suspicion 
of  entertaining  a  hatred  and  contempt  for  Oriental 
Jews  so  strong  as  to  overcome  the  good  breeding  of 
the  Frenchman,  and  make  him  trample  under  heel 
the  rudiments  of  polite  behavior. 


A  NEW  SAVIOR  243 


But,  in  truth,  we  mortals  judge  by  appearances.  The 
end  of  the  story  puts  a  different  color  on  the  beginning, 
and  shows  that  this  gentleman,  at  the  very  time  when 
he  was  outwardly  so  unkind  to  these  unfortunate  men, 
was  secretly  bubbling  over  with  sympathy  for  all  his 
unhappy  brethren  in  the  East.  We  find  that  while  the 
laborers'  deputation  stood  on  his  door-step  and  could 
not  gain  admittance,  he  was  sitting  in  his  study  and 
seeking  a  remedy  for  an  evil  far  greater  than  the  hard 
case  of  some  hundreds  of  workmen :  to  wit,  the  moral 
and  material  poverty  of  all  the  myriads  of  Jews  in  the 
East. 

Nor  did  he  seek  in  vain.  Scarce  had  the  ink  dried 
on  the  pen  with  which  he  wrote  his  reply  to  the 
deputation  and  their  "  insane  suggestions  "  (proposi- 
tions insensees),  when  lo  and  behold!  he  writes  and 
publishes  in  a  French  Jewish  paper  an  article  on  "  The 
Internal  Emancipation  of  Judaism,"  in  which  he  calls 
on  the  "  enlightened  "  Jews  of  the  West  to  unite  in 
aid  of  their  brethren  in  the  East,  so  as  to  free  them 
from  that  "  inner  slavery  "  in  which  they  are  sunk  at 
present,  and  which  is  responsible  for  all  their  troubles. 
Another  contributor  to  the  same  journal  attacks  his 
views,  of  course  with  much  bowing  and  scraping  and 
profuse  expressions  of  gratitude,  in  the  name  of  Juda- 
ism, for  the  fact  that  so  great  a  man  should  patronize 
it,  and  condescend  to  take  an  interest  in  its  problems ; 
and  our  distinguished  friend  actually  goes  to  the 
trouble  of  writing  a  second  and  even  a  third  article, 
both  breathing  an  intense  pity  for  his  poor  benighted 


244  A  NEW  SAVIOR 


brethren,  so  sadly  in  need  of  the  light  which  he  is  pre- 
pared, at  some  personal  sacrifice,  to  shed  on  them — 
although  (this  may  be  read  quite  clearly  between  the 
lines)  he  is  what  he  is  and  they  are  what  they  are !  ^ 
Now  what,  think  you,  is  this  "  inner  slavery  "  with 
which  we  are  infected?    It  is  nothing  more  or  less 
than  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  dietary 
laws.     The  dietary  laws  make  our  meat  dear,   and 
prevent  us  from  having  the  benefit  of  "  healthy  and 
cheap  forms  of  food,  such  as  swine's  flesh  " ;  and  the 
Sabbath  involves  heavy  loss  to  business  men,  and  does 
not  allow  poor  men  to  obtain  work  in  factories.    But 
this,  in  the  opinion  of  our  distinguished  friend,  is  not 
the  main  point.     To  lose  money  is  a  bad  thing;  but 
much  worse,  much  more  bitter,  is  the  moral  loss  in 
which  these  rites  involve  us.  "  Now,  when  the  progress 
of  science  and  the  moral  consciousness  has  done  so 
much  to  draw  the  hearts  of  men  nearer  together,  the 
Jews  are  cut  oif  by  their  religious  precepts,  which  sur- 
round them  with  a  gulf  deeper  than  that  of  hatred 
and  prejudice,  by  encouraging  the  false  idea  that  they 
are  strangers  among  the  nations."     "  This  is  the  real 
yellow  badge,  which  we  must  remove  from  our  breth- 
ren " — such  is  the  trumpet-call  with  which  our  dis- 
tinguished friend  concludes  his  last  article. 

Do  you  wish  for  proof  that  all  these  rites  have  lost 
their  potency  ?  Why,  "  almost  all  those  Jews  who, 
since  the  time  of  Spinoza  have  been  to  the  outside 

^S.  Reinach,  L'emancipation  interieure  du  judalsme  (L'Uni- 
vers  Israelite,  nos.  6,  8,  12). 


A  NEW  SAVIOR  24S 


world  the  fine  flower  of  Judaism,  have  emancipated 
.themselves  more  or  less  completely  from  religious 
observances.  The  belief  in  one  God,  the  belief  in 
progress  and  the  triumph  of  right,  the  bed-rock  on 
which  the  Jewish  outlook  is  based,  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  the  abolition  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  dietary 
laws."  Of  course,  our  distinguished  friend  is  himself 
one  of  those  Jews  who  are  to  the  outside  world  the 
fine  flower  of  Judaism,  and  so  he  is  not  ashamed  to 
open  his  door  to  the  world  (that  same  door  which  was 
closed  in  the  faces  of  the  poor  laborers),  and  let  every- 
body see  how  things  are  conducted  inside.  "  I  do 
not  ask  for  emancipation  for  myself:  I  have  already 
achieved  it,  and  need  no  external  aid.  But  I  do  ask  for 
an  attempt  to  emancipate,  by  means  of  organized 
propaganda,  the  great  mass  of  the  members  of  my 
communion,  the  poor  who  believe." 

The  thought  may  spring  to  one's  mind,  If  he  was 
able  to  emancipate  himself  without  external  aid,  is  it 
not  possible  that  the  poor  Eastern  Jews  also  may  attain 
the  same  result  by  their  own  efforts,  without  his 
assistance,  when  circumstances  really  make  it  neces- 
sary that  they  should  do  so?  But  our  distinguished 
friend  scouts  any  such  idea.  These  poor  people  be- 
lieve that  religious  ceremonies  are  holy,  and  must  not 
be  touched ;  "  and  in  order  to  show  them  their  mistake, 
there  is  need  of  reasoned  argument,  explanation  of 
the  social  basis  of  morality,  historical  expositions,  and 
so  forth,  all  of  which  must  be  brought  to  them  from 
without."    The  Jews  of  France  were  able  to  emanci- 


246  A  NEW  SAVIOR 


pate  themselves  from  the  burden  of  these  observances, 
"  because  they  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  enlighten- 
ment " ;  but  the  case  of  the  Eastern  Jews  is  different. 
"  How  can  you  hope,"  cries  our  author,  "  that  all  the 
millions  of  Jews  in  Russia  and  Roumania  will  be 
brought  into  an  atmosphere  of  philosophy  and  science 
like  ours  in  the  West?  It  is  heartless,  then,  to  expect 
them  to  emancipate  themselves.    We  must  assist  them." 

Assist  them — but  how  and  wherewith? 

The  answer  is  very  simple.  The  emancipated  West- 
ern Jews  are  to  put  into  our  hands  the  weapon  which 
we  lack,  rational  criticism,  and  with  this  weapon  we 
are  to  cut  the  stout  cords  that  bind  us;  and  then  we 
are  free !  It  is  a  very  powerful  weapon,  this  of  rational 
criticism.  By  its  means  "  it  is  possible  to  awaken 
doubts  in  simple,  trusting  minds ;  it  is  possible  to  make 
respectable  inhabitants  of  every  small  Polish  town  ask 
the  hitherto  forbidden  question,  Why  do  we  not  follow 
the  example  of  our  Western  fellow-Jews  ?  Why  should 
we  not  be  content  to  be  Jews  of  their  type  ?  " 

And  while  he  is  waiting  for  others  to  come  and  help 
him  in  bringing  us  this  weapon  of  rational  criticism, 
our  author  does  his  own  little  best,  and  stretches  out 
to  us,  for  the  time  being,  just  the  butt-end  of  the 
knife,  in  this  wise :  Do  you  imagine,  he  says,  that 
from  time  immemorial  the  Sabbath  has  been  a  day  of 
rest  for  the  weary,  and  that  it  has  therefore  a  moral 
value?  You  are  mistaken!  Even  before  the  giving 
of  the  Law  it  was  the  practice  to  refrain  from  work  on 
that  day,  because  it  was  regarded  as  a  day  of  evil 


A  NEW  SAVIOR  247 


omen,  on  which  nothing  could  prosper  ^ ;  and  this  is 
an  idle  superstition,  which  must  be  rooted  out.  Do 
you  think,  again,  that  from  time  immemorial  your 
ancestors  used  to  sacrifice  their  lives  for  the  sanctity 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  would  suffer  heavy  loss  rather 
than  profane  it?  You  are  mistaken!  Mattathias, 
the  father  of  the  Hasrnoneans,  allowed  his  men  to  de- 
fend themselves  against  .the  enemy  even  on  the  Sab- 
bath. This  proves  that  self-preservation  is  the  first 
of  all  laws ;  and  therefore  you,  too,  are  in  duty  bound 
to  go  to  your  work  on  the  Sabbath,  in  order  not  to 
suffer  loss  in  your  business  ;  you,  too,  are  in  duty  bound 
not  to  waste  your  money  on  kasher  meat,  when  swine's 
flesh  is  so  cheap. 

So  this  weapon  of  rational  criticism  is  not  a  very 
sharp  one,  nor  a  very  new  one.  On  its  own  merits, 
indeed,  it  is  not  worth  a  moment's  notice,  after  a 
century  of  attempts  at  "  religious  reform,"  many  of 
which  have  been  much  more  able  and  intelligent.  But 
the  novelty  of  this  attempt  lies  not  in  itself,  but  in 
its  being  made  for  the  sake  of  other  people,  as  a  kind 
of  charity ;  and  for  this  reason  I  have  thought  it  worth 
bringing  to  the  notice  of  our  own  community. 
Throughout  the  nineteenth  century  we  have  been  used 
to  seeing  the  Reformers  working  each  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Jews  in  his  own  country,  and  leaving  the  Jews 
in  other  countries  to  look  after  themselves  and  intro- 

'  This  is  a  well-known  theory,  based  on  records  of  a  Sabbath 
of  this  kind  in  the  ancient  history  of  Babylon.  See  for  example 
Sayce,  Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylonians  (1887),  p.  76. 


248  A  NEIV  SAVIOR 


duce  reforms  suited  to  their  own  way  of  thinking  and 
the  local  conditions,  of  which  they  were  the  best 
judges.  But  now  we  have  a  really  fin-de-sihle  idea 
in  Reform:  to  send  a  reforming  weapon  of  foreign 
manufacture  to  .those  poorer  brethren  who  lived  in 
countries  where  it  is  not  produced. 

One  is  inclined  to  smile  at  the  simplicity  of  this 
learned  scholar;  but  the  smile  vanishes  as  one  remem- 
bers that  it  is  men  of  this  kind  who  stand  at  the  head 
of  powerful  organizations,  whose  yea  or  nay  deter- 
mines the  fate  of  measures  of  the  highest  importance 
in  our  national  life.  We  are  not  concerned  here  with 
the  learned  scholar,  the  member  of  the  Academic 
frangaise;  we  have  already  grown  accustomed  to  these 
scholars  who  do  not  know  their  people,  and  hurl  their 
utterances  down  from  the  lofty  heights  of  Olympus. 
But  here  we  have  a  man  who  has  been  appointed  a 
steward  of  the  congregation,  of  the  whole  people,  who 
is  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Jewish  Coloniza- 
tion Association  and  the  Alliance:  and  this  man  is  so 
far  removed  from  the  general  body  of  his  people  as  to 
suppose,  in  all  sincerity  and  simplicity,  that  the  myriads 
of  Eastern  Jews  have  never  heard  this  profound  wis- 
dom of  his,  and  are  incapable  of  grasping  it,  unless  he 
and  his  like  hand  them  the  "  weapon  of  rational  criti- 
cism." If  you  tell  him  that  this  same  weapon  has 
been  lying  about  our  streets  for  years  past,  and  has 
actually  become  rusty,  he  will  not  believe  you,  or,  what 
is  worse,  will  not  understand  you,  even  if  he  does  be- 
lieve.     Men    of   this   kind,    themselves   without  any 


A  NEW  SAVIOR  249 


vestige  of  true  Jewish  feeling,  cannot  by  any  means 
be  brought  to  understand  how  there  can  be  among  us 
intelligent  men,  familiar  with  all  the  theories  of  the 
learned  world  about  the  origin  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
other  religious  observances,  who  know  also  what  our 
author  himself  affects  not  to  know,  that  even  "  the 
bed-rock  on  which  the  Jewish  outlook  is  based  "  did 
not  spring  into  being  full-grown,  but  was  gradually 
evolved,  like  the  conception  of  the  Sabbath,  out  of  the 
crude  beliefs  and  emotions  of  primitive  man,  and  who 
can  still  find  the  Sabbath  a  delight,  can  respect  and 
hold  sacred  the  day  which  has  been  sanctified  by  the 
blood  of  our  people,  and  has  preserved  it  for  thousands 
of  years  from  spiritual  degeneration,  although  they 
may  not  be  scrupulously  careful  as  regards  all  the 
details  of  the  multifarious  kinds  of  forbidden  work. 
They  cannot  understand  how  such  men,  though  they 
may  not  be  very  particular  about  what  they  eat  away 
from  home,  can  still  observe  Kashrut  in  their 
houses,  because  they  do  not  wish  their  tables  to  be 
regarded  as  unclean  by  the  Jewish  public:  not  that 
they  fear  the  public,  as  our  author  erroneously  sup- 
poses in  one  of  his  essays,  but  that  they  value  the 
national  tie  that  unites  them  with  it:  and  how  even 
those  who  act  otherwise  would  yet  regard  it  as  the 
height  of  impertinence  for  a  Jew  to  boast  publicly 
that  he  is  no  longer  at  one  with  the  great  mass  of  his 
people  as  regards  his  domestic  life  and  his  food.  All 
this  is  quite  unintelligible  to  Western  communal  leaders 
of  the  type  of  our  author.    And  not  only  that :  even  the 


250  A  NEW  SAVIOR 


real  significance  of  historical  events,  which  are  all  that 
remains  to  them  of  Judaism,  is  now  quite  beyond  their 
comprehension,  because  they  have  lost  the  national 
feeling.  Remember  Mattathias  the  Priest,  that  national 
hero  who  turned  his  back  in  scorn  and  loathing  on  the 
Syrian  officer,  with  his  promises  of  life  and  wealth  and 
glory,  and  sacrificed  himself  and  his  family  for  the 
honor  of  his  people  and  his  religion.  Remember  that 
passionate  cry  of  his,  "  Our  holy  things,  our  pride  and 
our  glory,  have  been  laid  waste ;  why  then  should  we 
live?"  This  is  the  hero  whom  our  French  savior 
brings  in  evidence  that  it  is  our  duty  to  abolish  the 
Sabbath,  because  "  a  man  must  live  " !  Our  Member 
of  the  Academy  does  not  understand  that  if  Mattathias 
allowed  fighting  on  the  Sabbath,  he  only  did  so  in 
order  to  preserve  the  whole  nation,  in  order  that  the 
Jews  might  be  able  to  remain  separate  from  other 
nations  in  their  inner  life,  and  develop  in  their  own 
way  as  a  distinct  and  individual  people.  That  is  to 
say,  his  purpose  was  exactly  the  reverse  of  that  with 
which  our  distinguished  friend  now  suggests  the 
abolition  of  the  Sabbath.  If  IMattathias  had  heard 
our  friend  putting  him  to  this  use,  and  then  adding 
that  "  in  our  day  the  Jews  are  no  longer  a  nation,"  I 
fear  that  he  might  have  treated  him  as  he  treated  the 
first  Jew  who  went  up  to  the  Syrian  altar. 

One  is  reminded  of  the  Polish  nobles  of  a  former 
generation,  and  the  way  in  which  they  treated  "  their  " 
Jews,  The  poor  Jew  stands  with  bared  head  before  his 
lord,  as  needs  he  must  for  his  belly's  sake ;  and  the  lord 


A  NEW  SAVIOR  251 


treats  him  with  the  utmost  contempt,  imagining  the 
while,  guileless  creature  that  he  is,  that  the  Jew  him- 
self is  conscious  of  his  own  worthlessness,  and  ac- 
knowledges the  lofty  superiority  of  his  lord  and  feeder. 
He  does  not  know  that  in  his  heart  of  hearts  the  Jew 
despises  him  and  his  like,  and  thinks  nothing  of  all 
their  glory  and  riches  and  wisdom,  because  he  is  fully 
aware  that  he  himself,  for  all  his  material  poverty, 
stands  morally  far  above  all  these  lords  of  his,  who  are 
slaves  to  this  temporary  life.  So  it  is  with  us  and  our 
distinguished  brethren  of  the  West.  They  see  the 
Jews  of  the  East  coming  to  beg  material  aid  of  them 
in  time  of  .trouble ;  and  apparently  they  are  crass 
enough  to  suppose  that  these  Jews  confess  also  to  a 
spiritual  inferiority,  and  are  waiting  for  the  West  to 
emancipate  them  not  only  from  their  external  poverty, 
but  also  from  their  inner  slavery.  Could  these  saviors 
of  ours  but  know  what  we  think  of  them,  of  that  inner 
slavery  to  which  tJwy  condemn  themselves  when  they 
barter  their  national  spirit  for  paper  privileges;  of 
that  "  slavery  in  freedom  "  of  which  the  French  Jews 
have  taken  so  liberal  a  dose:  could  they  but  know 
this,  they  might  perhaps  understand  how  profound  is 
the  contempt  which  we,  ingrates  that  we  are,  return 
them  for  their  kindness  when  they  come  to  emancipate 
us  from  our  spiritual  bondage. 

Slaves  that  you  are,  emancipate  yourselves  first! 

But  you  cannot!  It  is  not  in  you  to  emancipate 
yourselves.  "  It  is  heartless  to  expect  you  to  emanci- 
pate yourselves."    That  is  a  task  beyond  your  moral 


252  A  NEW  SAVIOR 


strength.  It  is  not  you,  but  we,  "  the  poor  who  be- 
lieve," in  the  East,  who  will  emancipate  you  from  that 
inner  slavery  in  which,  all  unconscious,  you  are  sunk. 

We  will  fill  your  spiritual  emptiness  with  Jewish, 
feeling;  we  will  bring  you  Judaism,  not  the  fair- 
sounding,  meaningless  lip-phrase  which  is  your  con- 
fession of  faith,  but  a  living  Judaism  of  the  heart; 
inspired  with  the  will  and  the  power  to  develop  and  to 
renew  its  strength.  And  then  you  will  change  your 
tune  about  slavery  and  emancipation. 

If  you  have  eyes  to  see  what  is  going  on  around 
you,  use  them!  Here  are  these  paupers  coming 
from  the  East,  and  beginning  already  to  exercise  an  in- 
fluence on  your  communities,  while  you  disdain  to  take 
notice  of  them.  Even  so  the  lordly  Romans  in  their 
day  looked  down  with  contempt  on  the  "  paupers 
from  the  East,"  until  these  paupers  came  and  over- 
turned their  world. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL* 
(1902) 

It  is  not  a  mere  accident  that  the  question  of  Jewish 
culture  has  come  to  the  front  with  the  rise  of  "  poHti- 
cal  "'  Zionism,  Zionism — unquaHfied  by  any  epithet — 
existed  before,  but  it  knew  nothing  of  any  problem 
of  culture.  It  knew  only  its  own  plain  and  simple 
aim :  that  of  placing  the  Hebrew  nationality  in  new 
conditions,  which  should  give  it  the  possibility  of  de- 
veloping all  the  various  sides  of  its  individuality.  This 
being  the  aim  of  the  earlier  Zionists,  the  first  article 
in  their  programme  was  naturally  the  creation  of  a 
fixed,  independent  centre  for  our  nationality  in  our 
ancestral  land.  But  at  the  same  time  they  kept  a 
watchful  eye  on  every  side  of  the  Hfe  of  the  Hebrew 
nationality  as  it  exists  at  present,  and  used  every  suit- 
able means  of  strengthening  it  and  promoting  its  de- 
velopment. A  society  of  Zionists  in  Warsaw,  for  in- 
stance, was  engaged  at  one  and  the  same  time  in 
founding  a  colony  in  Palestine,  a  school  of  the  modern 
type  in  Warsaw,  and  an  association  for  the  diffusion 

'  [This  essay  was  originally  an  address  delivered  before  the 
general  meeting  of  Russian  Zionists  at  Minsk,  in  the  summer  of 
1902.  Only  a  part  of  it,  that  part  which  deals  with  the  question 
of  Jewish  culture  in  its  broader  aspects,  is  here  translated.  The 
omitted  portion  is  not  of  any  considerable  length.] 


254  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

of  Hebrew  literature.  That  is  to  say,  these  men 
thought  it  their  duty  to  combine  "  poHtical "  with 
"  cultural  "  work ;  and  all  this  in  the  name  of  Zionism 
(or  Hibbat  Zion,  as  it  was  then  called).  Nobody 
challenged  this  combination;  nobody  raised  the  ques- 
tion whether  this  "  cultural  "  work  was  right  or  wrong, 
obligatory  or  permissible.  It  was  understood  on  all 
sides  that  the  conception  of  Zionism  must  include  all 
that  comes  within  the  definition  of  Hebrew  nationality. 
Any  piece  of  work  which  would  assist  in  strengthen- 
ing and  developing  the  nationality  was  Zionist  work 
beyond  all  manner  of  doubt. 

And  now  a  new  Zionism  has  arisen,  and  has  adopted 
the  term  "  political  "  as  its  descriptive  epithet.  What, 
we  may  inquire,  is  the-  precise  point  of  this  epithet? 
It  adds  nothing  to  the  older  Zionism,  for  Zionism  has 
always  been,  in  its  hopes  for  the  distant  future,  essen- 
tially "  political."  From  its  inception  Zionism  had  at 
its  very  root  the  hope  of  attaining  in  Palestine,  at  some 
distant  date,  absolute  independence  in  the  conduct  of 
the  national  life.  That  was  a  necessary  condition  of 
the  unhindered  and  complete  development  of  the 
national  individuality.  Now,  even  the  newer  Zionism 
cannot  bring  the  Messiah  "  to-day  or  to-morrow  " ; 
hence  it  also  is  "  political  "  only  in  its  hopes  for  the 
future.  Small  wonder  then  that  the  epithet,  which 
clearly  added  nothing,  was  often  understood  as  tak- 
ing something  away.  It  was  taken  by  political  Zion- 
ists to  mean  something  like  this :  The  earlier  Zionists 
included  in  Zionism  everything  germane  to  the  de- 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  255 

velopment  of  the  Hebrew  national  individuality; 
whereas  for  us  it  has  only  a  political  aim.  Zionism 
for  us  means  simply  the  foundation  in  Palestine,  by 
means  of  diplomatic  negotiations  with  Turkey  and  other 
powers,  of  a  "  safe  refuge  "  for  all  oppressed  and  per- 
secuted Jews,  who  cannot  live  under  tolerable  condi- 
tions in  their  native  countries,  and  seek  a  means  of 
escape  from  poverty  and  hunger.  Even  the  Basle  pro- 
gramme helped  to  fix  this  idea  in  people's  minds,  be- 
cause in  its  first  paragraph  it  defined  the  aim  of  Zion- 
ism thus :  "  To  found  in  Palestine  a  safe  refuge  for 
the  Jewish  people,"  and  made  no  mention  of  the  Jew- 
ish nationality.  The  various  speeches  of  Zionist  leaders 
at  Basle,  in  London,  and  elsewhere,  which  were  a  sort 
of  commentary  on  this  paragraph,  stated  emphatically 
and  repeatedly  that  Zionism  had  come  to  solve  once 
for  all  the  economic  and  political  problem  of  the  Jews ; 
that  its  aim  was  to  gather  all  the  oppressed  of  Israel 
into  one  place,  into  the  Jewish  State,  where  they  could 
live  in  security,  and  be  no  longer  foreigners  and  aliens, 
whose  struggle  for  existence  excites  the  jealousy  and 
ill-will  of  the  native  population.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  examine  this  form  of  Zionism  with  a  view  to  dis- 
covering how  far  its  promises  as  to  the  solution  of  the 
Jewish  problem  were  capable  of  fulfilment  in  the 
natural  course  of  events.  I  have  dealt  with  this  point 
on  several  occasions  elsewhere.  Here  I  only  wish  to 
point  out  that  these  promises  had  the  effect  of  attract- 
ing attention  mainly  to  the  political  aspect  of  Zionism, 
until  the  Zionist  conception  became  narrowed  down, 
and  lost  half  its  meaning. 


2s6  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

Thus  the  "  problem  of  culture "  was  a  child  of 
political  Zionism.  For  centuries  our  people  have  suf- 
fered torments  for  the  sake  of  the  preservation  of  the 
products  of  their  national  spirit,  seeing  in  these  pro- 
ducts the  be-all  and  end-all  of  their  existence.  And 
now  that  they  have  at  last  come  to  recognize  that  suf- 
fering alone  is  not  enough,  but  that  it  is  necessary  to 
work  actively  for  the  national  revival — now,  forsooth, 
it  has  become  a  "  question,"  whether  the  strengthening 
of  the  national  spirit  and  the  development  of  the 
nation's  spiritual  products  are  essential  parts  of  the 
work  of  the  revival.  And  this  question  is  answered 
by  many  in  the  negative ! 

But  it  must  be  added  that  this  negative  attitude,  if 
we  may  trust  those  who  adopt  it,  does  not  involve  any 
opposition  to  "  cultural  "  work  as  such.  "  Far  be  it 
from  us,"  they  say,  "  to  deny  the  usefulness  of  such 
work.  Though  we  do  not  regard  it  as  Zionist  work, 
we  do  not  say  that  Zionists  should  not  take  it  up.  On 
the  contrary,  we  actually  encourage  them  to  take  part 
in  cultural  work  so  far  as  they  can.  But  we  do  not 
wish  to  make  it  obligatory  on  them,  because  that  would 
be  mixing  up  Zionism  with  matters  which  are  not  essen- 
tial to  it,  and  have  no  necessary  connection  with  its 
principles."  Certainly  it  cannot  be  denied  that  many 
of  these  Zionists,  who  regard  "  culture  "  as  something 
foreign  to  the  conception  of  Zionism,  do  in  fact  take 
part  in  cultural  work,  do  in  fact  found  schools  and 
libraries,  and  in  some  cases  even  help  in  the  diffusion 
of  Hebrew  literature  and  so  forth.    Nay,  more :  if  you 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  257 

examine  Zionist  societies  in  various  places,  you  will 
find  that  it  is  precisely  such  work  that  keeps  them 
alive.  Wherever  a  Zionist  society  really  lives,  its  life 
is  generally  a  result  of  cultural  work,  because  such 
work  can  obtain  a  hold  on  the  members,  and  give  them 
the  opportunity  of  devoted  and  persistent  activity  of 
a  concrete  nature,  which  has  a  visible  usefulness.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  where  a  society  is  content  to  do  no 
more  for  Zionism  than  sell  "  shekolim  "  and  shares  and 
hold  "  political "  lectures,  there  you  will  generally 
notice  a  feeling  of  emptiness  and  the  absence  of  a 
life-giving  force ;  and  in  the  end  such  a  society  pines 
and  wastes  away  for  lack  of  food,  for  lack,  that  is,  of 
solid  and  constant  work,  which  can  rivet  the  attention, 
occupy  the  mind,  and  rouse  the  emotions  and  the  will 
without  intermission.  All  this  is  quite  true.  But  to 
what  conclusion  does  it  drive  us?  Those  who  oppose 
"  culture  "  conclude  that  there  is  no  need  to  talk  a 
great  deal  about  "  cultural  work,"  or  to  argue  and 
dispute  about  the  purely  theoretical  question,  whether 
such  work  is  essentially  bound  up  with  the  conception 
of  Zionism,  or  not.  This  question,  they  say,  is  purely 
one  of  theory ;  in  actual  practice  most  Zionists  do  per- 
form their  share  of  this  work  to  the  best  of  their  ability. 
But  this  conclusion  is  right  only  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  interests  of  culture  ;  it  is  not  right  from  that 
of  the  interests  of  Zionism.  It  may  be  true  that  cul- 
tural work  needs  no  express  sanction  from  Zionism, 
so  long  as  Zionism,  in  its  purely  political  form,  cannot 
provide  its  adherents  with  any  other  form  of  work 
17 


258  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

which  has  greater  attractions  and  a  stronger  hold.  So 
long  as  that  is  the  case,  political  Zionism  is  bound  to 
rely  on  the  help  of  cultural  work,  which  is  better  able 
to  satisfy  .the  mind  and  provide  an  outlet  for  the 
energies  of  those  who  detest  waste  of  time  and  idle 
talk.  But  if  this  sanction  is  not  necessary  to  culture, 
it  is  most  emphatically  necessary  to  Zionism.  Every 
.true  lover  of  Zionism  must  realize  the  danger  which 
it  incurs  through  the  diffusion  of  the  idea  that  it  has 
no  concern  with  anything  except  diplomacy  and  finan- 
cial transactions,  and  that  all  internal  national  work 
is  a  thing  apart,  which  has  no  lot  or  portion  in  Zion- 
ism itself.  If  this  idea  gains  general  acceptance,  it 
will  end  by  bringing  Zionism  very  low  indeed.  It 
will  make  Zionism  an  empty,  meaningless  phrase,  a 
mere  romance  of  diplomatic  embassies,  interviews  with 
high  personages,  promises,  et  hoc  gcmis  omne.  Such 
a  romance  appeals  to  the  imagination ;  but  it  leaves  no 
room  for  creative  work,  which  alone  can  slake  the 
thirst  for  activity. 

When,  therefore,  we  demand  a  clear  and  explicit 
statement  that  work  for  the  revival  of  the  national 
spirit  and  the  development  of  its  products  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  Zionism,  and  that  Zionism  is  incon- 
ceivable without  such  work,  we  are  not  giving  utter- 
ance to  a  mere  empty  formula,  or  fighting  for  a  name. 
We  are  endeavoring  to  save  the  honor  of  Zionism,  and 
to  preserve  it  from  that  narrowness  and  decay  which 
will  be  the  inevitable,  though  undesired,  result  of  the 
action  of  those  leaders  and  champions  of  the  movement 
who  wish  to  confine  it  to  the  political  aspect. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  259 

But  before  we  attempt  to  make  cultural  work  a 
part  of  the  Zionist  programme,  we  must  distinguish 
between  the  two  branches  of  that  work.  These  two 
branches,  though  they  differ  in  kind,  have  hitherto 
been  confused,  with  the  result  that  the  question  has 
become  still  further  complicated. 

The  degree  of  culture  to  which  a  nation  has  attained 
may  be  estimated  from  two  points  of  view :  from  that 
of  the  culture  which  it  has  produced,  and  from  that 
of  the  state  of  its  cultural  life  at  any  given  time.     In 
other  words,  "  culture  "  has  both  an  objective  and  a  sub- 
jective meaning.      Objectively,   a   nation's   culture    is 
something  which  has  a  reality  of  its  own :  it  is  the  con- 
crete expression  of  the  best  minds  of  the  nation  in  every 
period  of  its  existence.     The  nation  expresses  itself 
in  certain  definite  forms,  which  remain  for  all  time, 
and  are  no  longer  dependent  on  those  who  created 
them,  any  more  than  a  fallen  apple  is  dependent  on 
the  tree   from  which  it  fell.     For  instance,  we  still 
have  the  benefit  of  Greek  culture :  we  drink  in  the 
wisdom  of  Greek  philosophers,  and  enjoy  the  poetry 
and  the  art  which  that  great  nation  has  left  us,  though 
the  nation  itself,  which  created  all  this  culture,  has 
vanished  from  the  face  of  the  earth.     But  the  "  state 
of  the  cultural  life  "  of  any  nation  is  purely  subjective 
and  temporary:  it  means  the  degree  to  which  culture 
is  diffused  among  the  individual  members  of  the  nation, 
and  the  extent  to  which  its  influence  is  visible  in  their 
private  and  public  life.    The  "  state  of  the  cultural  life  " 
is  thus  essentially  dependent  on  the  individuals  of  whom 


26o  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

it  is  predicated,  and  with  them  it  passes  and  changes 
from  one  period  to  another. 

Culture  in  the  objective  sense  and  culture  in  the 
subjective  sense  do  not  necessarily  reach  the  same 
degree  of  development  at  the  same  time.  There  are 
periods  in  the  history  of  a  nation  in  which  all  its  spirit- 
ual strength  is  concentrated  in  a  few  exceptionally 
gifted  minds ;  and  these  produce  an  original  culture 
of  high  value,  which  the  generality  of  their  country- 
men (such  is  their  "  state  of  culture "  at  that  par- 
ticular time)  cannot  even  fully  understand.  The 
England  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries 
affords  an  illustration.  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  Locke, 
Hume,  and  the  other  great  English  writers  of  that 
period,  a  large  body  of  men,  relatively  speaking,  created 
new  worlds  in  literature  and  philosophy,  by  the  light 
of  which  men  still  walk  at  the  present  day.  But  the 
great  mass  of  the  English  people  was  then  in  a  low 
state  of  culture,  which  did  not  by  any  means  corre- 
spond to  the  level  reached  by  these  giants.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  intellectual  forces  of  a  nation  in  a 
particular  period  may  find  their  expression  in  the  gen- 
eral state  of  culture :  education  may  be  universal  and 
the  tone  of  life  throughout  enlightened  and  refined : 
while,  at  the  same  time,  this  culture  may  be  barren, 
producing  no  master-minds  able  to  express  the  spirit 
of  the  nation  in  original  creative  work,  but  dependent 
entirely  on  its  own  past,  or  on  borrowings  from  other 
nations.  This  is  the  condition,  for  instance,  of  the 
Swiss  at  the  present  day.     They  are  all  educated  in 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  261 

excellent  schools,  which  satisfy  the  highest  demands 
of  European  enlightenment;  in  many  departments  of 
the  national  life  they  show  a  high,  and  perhaps  un- 
equalled, level  of  culture.  But  from  the  point  of  view 
of  objective  culture  Switzerland  is  unproductive :  as 
yet  there  has  arisen  no  great  creative  intellect,  capable 
of  embodying  the  Swiss  spirit  in  an  original  national 
culture;  and  even  the  best  teachers  in  the  Swiss  uni- 
versities have  to  be  imported  from  abroad. 

In  dealing,  therefore,  with  the  question  of  spread- 
ing culture  among  the  Jewish  people,  we  must  remem- 
ber that  there  are  two  terms  involved :  on  the  one  hand, 
the  culture  (in  the  objective  sense)  which  we  wish  to 
spread;  on  the  other  hand,  the  people  in  relation  to 
that  culture.  Our  task  thus  falls  into  two  halves.  We 
have  in  the  first  place  to  perfect  the  body  of  culture 
which  the  Jewish  people  has  created  in  the  past,  and 
to  stimulate  its  creative  power  to  fresh  expression ; 
and  in  the  second  place  to  raise  the  cultural  level  of 
the  people  in  general,  and  to  make  its  objective  culture 
the  subjective  possession  of  each  of  its  individual  mem- 
bers. And  in  order  to  discover  what  we  ought  to  do, 
and  what  we  can  do,  in  each  of  these  two  directions, 
we  must  clearly  understand  the  position  and  the  needs 
both  of  the  culture  and  of  the  people. 

I  propose  to  deal  in  turn  with  each  of  the  two  halves 
into  which  I  have  divided  the  main  question. 

The  existence  of  an  original  Hebrew  culture  needs 
no  proof.  So  long  as  the  Bible  is  extant,  the  creative 
power  of  the   Jewish   mind  will   remain   undeniable. 


262  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

Even  those  who  deny  that  the  Jews  are  a  people  at 
the  present  day  are  compelled  to  admit  that  when  they 
were  a  people  they  were  a  creative  people,  and  the  pro- 
ducts of  their  creative  power  bear  the  indelible  impress 
of  their  native  genius.  This  being  so,  all  .those  of  us 
who  believe,  or  rather  feel,  that  the  Jews  are  still  a 
people,  have  the  right  to  believe  equally,  without  look- 
ing for  any  special  proof,  that  the  Jewish  creative 
genius  still  lives,  and  is  capable  of  expressing  itself 
anew.  But  a  different  idea  has  gained  currency  of 
late,  and  especially  among  Zionists :  to  wit,  that  there 
is  no  true  Hebrew  culture  outside  the  Scriptures,  which 
the  Jews  produced  while  they  lived  and  worked  in  a 
normal  manner  on  their  own  land ;  that  all  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Diaspora  does  not  express  the  true  Hebrew 
genius,  and  has  no  connection  with  the  earlier  litera- 
ture, because  the  heavy  yoke  of  exile  crushed  the 
creative  faculty  and  made  it  sterile.  Those  Zionists 
who  hold  this  view  apparently  think  that  it  strengthens 
the  case  for  Zionism,  because  it  belittles  yet  another 
side  of  the  life  of  the  exile.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
if  this  view  were  correct,  we  should  be  compelled  to 
doubt  whether  there  were  any  hope  for  a  revival  of  our 
creative  power,  even  after  the  return  to  our  own  land. 
Every  vital  function  which  ceases  to  work  becomes 
weaker  and  weaker,  until  at  last  it  atrophies ;  and  two 
thousand  years  of  disuse  would  be  sufficient  to  kill 
the  strongest  function  imaginable.  But,  fortunately, 
this  view  has  no  foundation.  The  unfavorable  condi- 
tions in  which  we  have  lived  since  the  Dispersion  have 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  263 

naturally   left  their   mark  on   our  literary   work;  but 
the  Jewish  genius  has  undergone  no  change  in  its 
essential  characteristics,  and  has  never  ceased  to  pro- 
duce.    For  instance,  it  is  the  fashion  amongst  non- 
Jewish  scholars  (and  of  course  most  Jewish  scholars 
adopt  the  fashion,  as  usual)  to  emphasize  the  essen- 
tial and  fundamental  difference  between  the  teaching 
of  the  Prophets  and  the  practical  Judaism  which  grew 
up  in  the  time  of  the  second  Temple,  and  received  its 
final  form  after  the  destruction  of  that  Temple.    The 
teaching  of  the  Prophets,  they  say,  was  exclusively 
moral,  and  was  directed  towards  a  lofty  spiritual  ideal ; 
whereas  the  later  practical  Judaism  concerned  itself 
only  with  external  regulations,  and  wasted  its  strength 
in  the  creation  of  innumerable  trivial  ordinances,  with 
no  moral  value  whatever.     The  difference  is,  in  their 
view,  so  patent  that  it  cannot  possibly  be  denied.    And 
yet,  if  we  look  more  closely,  we  shall  find  that  these  two 
Judaisms,  widely  as  they  differ  in  content,  are  products 
of  one  and  the  same  spirit,  whose  impress  they  bear 
in  common.     It  is  a  fundamental  characteristic  of  the 
Jews  that  they  do  not  readily  compromise,  and  have 
no  love   for  half  measures.     When   once   they  have 
recognized  the  truth  of  a  particular  conception,  and 
made  it  a  basis  of  action,  they  give  themselves  wholly 
to  it,  and  strive  to  work  out  its  every  detail  in  practice ; 
there  is  no  regard  for  side  issues,  no  concession  to 
existing  interests.     It  was  this  characteristic  that  pro- 
duced first  of  all,  in  the  days  of  our  freedom,  the 
teaching  of  the  Prophets,  with  its  extreme  insistence 


264  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

• . "^ 

on  morality;  it  was  this  that  produced  afterwards,  in 
the  days  when  we  were  slaves,  the  teaching  of  the 
Talmud  and  the  Shulhan  'Aruk,  with  its  equally 
extreme  insistence  on  practice.  The  nation  was  driven 
to  emphasize  the  aspect  of  practical  observance  by 
the  necessity  of  preserving  itself  in  conditions  of 
slavery  and  dispersion :  hence  the  belief  that  "  the  Holy 
One,  blessed  be  He,  wished  to  bestow  merit  on  Israel ; 
wherefore  he  multiplied  for  them  the  Law  and  the 
commandments."  Once  entered  on  the  path  of  the  mul- 
tiplication of  commandments,  we  went  on  multiplying 
and  multiplying  without  end.  We  did  not  discrimi- 
nate between  the  important  and  the  trivial;  we  could 
not  give  up  the  pettiest  of  petty  details. 

The  national  creative  power,  then,  is  not  dead;  it 
has  not  changed,  nor  has  it  ceased  to  bear  fruit  in  its 
own  way;  only  the  changed  conditions  have  given  its 
fruit  a  different  taste.  The  fruit  produced  by  a  tree 
in  the  place  where  it  grows  naturally  and  freely  is  un- 
like that  which  it  bears  when  it  is  preserved  by  arti- 
ficial means  in  a  strange  soil;  and  yet  the  tree  is  the 
same  in  its  essential  nature,  and  so  long  as  it  lives  it 
produces  fruit  of  its  own  specific  kind.  So  it  is  with 
the  Hebrew  spirit :  it  bore  fruit  after  its  own  kind,  and 
created  a  literature  in  a  mould  original  and  peculiar 
to  itself,  not  only  while  the  Jews  lived  in  their  own 
country,  but  also  in  the  lands  of  their  exile,  so  long  as 
the  conditions  were  such  as  to  leave  the  nation  any 
possibility  of  devoting  its  whole  spiritual  energy  to  its 
own  work. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  265 

It  is  only  in  the  latest  period,  that  of  emancipation 
and  assimilation,  that  Hebrew  culture  has  really  be- 
come sterile,  and  has  borne  practically  no  fresh  fruit 
at  all.  This  does  not  mean  that  our  creative  power 
has  been  suddenly  destroyed,  or  that  we  are  no  longer 
capable  of  doing  original  work.  It  is  the  tendency  to 
sink  the  national  individuality,  and  merge  it  in  that 
of  other  nations,  that  has  produced  two  characteristic 
phenomena  of  this  period :  on  the  one  hand,  the  con- 
scious and  deliberate  neglect  of  our  original  spiritual 
qualities  and  the  striving  to  be  like  other  people 
in  every  possible  way;  on  the  other  hand,  the  loss  to 
ourselves  of  the  most  gifted  men  whom  we  have  pro- 
duced in  the  last  few  generations,  and  their  abandon- 
ment of  Jewish  national  work  for  a  life  devoted  to  the 
service  of  other  nations. 

Indeed,  these  very  men,  with  their  great  gifts,  are 
themselves  a  proof  that  we  still  have  within  us,  as  a 
people,  a  perennial  spring  of  living  creative  power. 
For  try  as  they  will  to  conceal  their  Jewish  character- 
istics, and  to  embody  in  their  work  the  national  spirit 
of  the  people  whose  livery  they  have  adopted,  the  light 
of  literary  and  artistic  criticism  reveals  quite  clearly 
their  almost  universal  failure.  Despite  themselves,  the 
spirit  of  Judaism  comes  to  the  surface  in  all  that  they 
attempt,  and  gives  their  work  a  special  and  distinc- 
tive character,  which  is  not  found  in  the  work  of  non- 
Jewish  laborers  in  the  same  field.  It  is  beyond  dispute, 
therefore,  that,  if  all  these  scattered  forces  had  been 
combined  in  working  for  our  own  national  culture,  as 


266  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

in  earlier  times,  that  culture  would  be  to-day  one  of 
the  richest  and  most  original  in  the  whole  world.  We 
might  attempt  to  find  satisfaction  in  this  thought.  But, 
unfortunately,  it  can  only  serve  to  increase  our  de- 
spondency, when  we  see  our  people  exporting  without 
importing,  and  scattering  the  sparks  of  its  spiritual 
fire  in  all  directions,  to  augment  the  wealth  and  the 
fame  of  its  enemies  and  its  persecutors,  while  for  itself 
it  has  no  enjoyment  of  its  own  wealth,  and  its  national 
treasury  is  none  the  richer  for  all  the  work  of  its  most 
gifted  sons.  At  the  present  day  we  are  suffering 
heavily  from  that  "  evil  "  which  the  writer  of  Eccle- 
siastes  long  ago  noticed  as  "  heavy  upon  men," — 
"  a  man  to  w'hom  God  giveth  riches,  wealth,  and  honor 
....  yet  God  giveth  him  not  power  to  eat  thereof, 
but  a  stranger  eateth  it." 

But  we  have  already  gone  so  far  in  renouncing  our 
national  individuality  that  we  are  no  longer  even  con- 
scious of  the  evil ;  and  the  dispersion  of  our  intellectual 
forces  scarce  claims  a  passing  sigh  of  regret.  Nay, 
when  we  see  a  Jew  earning  fame  by  distinguished  work 
in  any  non- Jewish  w^orld  of  culture,  our  hearts  swell 
with  pride  and  joy,  and  we  hasten  to  proclaim  from  the 
housetops  that  "  so-and-so  is  one  of  our  people," 
though  "  so-and-so  "  may  be  doing  his  utmost  to  for- 
get and  bury  the  relationship.  Occasionally  such 
an  incident  as  this  may  provoke  some  of  us  to  lament 
the  sorry  plight  of  a  nation  which  can  only  till  the 
fields  of  other  peoples,  while  its  own  lies  neglected  and 
untended ;  but  many  of  our  "  superior  "  and  "  broad- 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  267 

minded  "  brothers  treat  us  with  a  lofty  contempt,  and 
regard  our  complaint  as  treason  to  "  humanity." 
"  What  do  we  care,"  you  will  hear  them  argue, 
"  whether  a  man  works  for  his  own  people  or  for 
another?  Enough  that  his  work  benefits  humanity  at 
large.  The  good  of  humanity — ^.that  is  the  one  ideal 
of  the  future;  to  set  up  any  other  is  a  sign  of  petty 
tribalism  and  narrow-mindedness."  This  is  certainly 
a  "  broad  "  view :  but  it  overlooks  the  fact  that  great- 
ness is  a  matter  not  of  breadth  only,  but  of  depth.  In 
reality,  this  view,  for  all  its  breadth,  is  utterly  super- 
ficial. For  consider  the  two  sides  of  the  antithesis. 
In  the  one  case  a  man  works  among  his  own  people, 
in  the  environment  which  gave  him  birth  and  endowed 
him  with  his  special  aptitude,  which  encircled  the  first 
slow  growth  of  his  faculties  and  implanted  in  him  the 
rudiments  of  his  human  consciousness,  his  fundamental 
ideas  and  feelings,  thus  determining  in  his  childhood 
what  should  be  the  bent  and  character  of  his  mind 
throughout  his  life.  In  the  other  case  he  works  among 
an  alien  people,  in  a  world  that  is  not  his  own,  and  in 
which  he  cannot  become  at  home  unless  he  artificially 
change  his  nature  and  the  current  of  his  mind,  thereby 
inevitably  tearing  himself  into  two  disparate  halves, 
and  foredooming  all  his  work  to  reveal,  in  its  character 
and  its  products,  this  want  of  harmony  and  wholeness. 
Is  there  really  no  difference? 

It  follows,  then,  that  humanity  at  large  suffers  to 
some  extent  from  the  dispersion  of  our  cultural  forces ; 
and  therefore  our  staunchest  champions  of  humanity 


268  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

have  a  perfect  right  to  share  unhesitatingly  in  our  con- 
cern at  this  dispersion.  But  even  if  they  think  that 
the  loss  to  humanity  is  not  so  great  as  to  justify  them 
in  feeling  concerned  about  it,  we  at  least,  we  who  are 
nationalists,  need  not  be  ashamed,  I  think,  to  publish 
abroad  our  distress  at  this  enslavement  of  our  capaci- 
ties to  alien  races,  and  at  the  resulting  loss  to  our  in- 
ternal national  life.  Even  the  most  ardent  "  liberals," 
whose  watchword  is  humanity,  and  whose  lodestar 
is  progress,  even  they  certainly  permit  themselves  and 
others  to  take  suitable  measures  for  attaining  their 
own  particular  ends,  so  long  as  those  measures  do  not 
involve  any  loss  to  humanity  or  progress;  and  if  this 
is  permitted  to  individuals  in  their  private  lives,  why 
should  it  be  forbidden  to  a  whole  nation  in  its  national 
life?  We  need  not,  therefore,  answer  those  who  ask 
what  humanity  loses  by  our  loss :  it  is  rather  for  them 
to  explain  to  us  what  humanity  gains  by  our  loss,  and 
what  humanity  would  lose  if  we,  and  not  an  alien  peo- 
ple, were  to  derive  a  national  advantage  from  the  men 
of  genius  whom  we  produce ;  if  we,  and  not  an  alien 
people,  were  to  lay  on  the  altar  of  humanity  the  offer- 
ings of  our  own  sons,  who  owe  to  us  their  existence 
and  their  inspiration. 

Recently,  for  instance,  we  buried  and  mourned  for 
Antokolsky.  While  the  tears  yet  flow  for  the  prema- 
ture death  of  this  great  artist,  the  time  has  not  come 
to  examine  in  detail,  and  without  fear  or  favor,  his 
relation  on  the  one  hand  to  his  own  people,  which  gave 
him  inspiration  and  genius,  and  on  the  other  hand  to 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  269 

the  alien  nation  from  which  he  derived  riches  and 
honor.  But  there  is  one  general  truth  which  we  cannot 
hide.  The  mourning  which  his  death  has  caused 
throughout  the  whole  world,  and  especially  in  his  native 
land,  must  cause  us  a  secret  pang,  when  we  see  that 
others  arrogate  to  themselves  the  glory  of  his  name 
now  that  he  is  dead,  just  as  they  took  the  fruits  of  his 
genius  while  he  was  alive :  and  we,  meanwhile,  can 
only  reflect  sadly  on  what  Antokolsky  might  have 
given,  but  did  not  give,  to  his  people,  and  on  the  terri- 
ble poverty  and  degradation  of  our  national  position, 
but  for  which  men  like  Antokolsky  would  not  look 
abroad  for  an  outlet  for  their  genius. 

And  who  will  dare  to  say  that  this  pang  which  we 
feel  is  a  sin  against  humanity  and  progress?  How 
would  progress  have  suffered,  what  would  humanity 
have  lost,  if  Antokolsky  had  devoted  his  genius,  or  at 
least  some  considerable  portion  of  it,  to  the  service  of 
his  own  people's  culture ;  if  the  matter  which  he  en- 
dowed with  form  and  soul  had  been  taken  from  our 
national  life,  which  was  undoubtedly  much  closer  to 
him  in  spirit,  much  more  intelligible  to  him,  than  the 
alien  life  in  which  he  sought  his  subjects  ? 

Of  course,  it  is  easy  to  solve  the  difficulty  by  a  gen- 
eralization. It  is  easy  to  say — and  we  do  in  fact  hear 
it  said  very  often — that  Jewish  life  is  very  circum- 
scribed, and  does  not  afford  sufficient  material  for  a 
creative  work  of  genius ;  that  therefore  great  artists 
are  compelled  to  rely  on  non- Jewish  life  as  a  medium 
for  the  expression  of  their  ideas.     But  this  solution 


270  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

vanishes  like  smoke  as  soon  as  we  pass  from  the  gen- 
eralization to  the  individual  instances.  Thus,  to  take 
one  example,  Antokolsky  wished  to  produce  a  statue 
of  a  violent  and  cruel  tyrant,  steeped  in  bloodshed, 
universally  dreaded,  and  yet  not  wholly  dead  to  the 
voice  of  conscience,  but  alternating  always  between 
crime  and  repentance.  Could  there  be  a  more  perfect 
type  of  such  a  tyrant  than  Herod,  as  history  portrays 
his  character  and  his  actions?  And  if  Antokolsky 
nevertheless  chose  as  his  model  not  Herod,  but  the 
Russian  king,  Ivan  the  Terrible,  was  it  really  because 
there  was  a  richer  and  fuller  interest,  a  more  broadly 
human  appeal,  in  the  figure  of  this  obscure  tyrant, 
almost  unknown  outside  his  own  country,  and  scarcely 
intelligible  to  any  but  his  own  countrymen,  than  in 
that  of  Herod,  which  was  bound  up  by  a  thousand 
links  with  the  general  culture  of  his  era,  which  exer- 
cised a  certain  influence  on  the  history  of  the  world, 
and  which  was  certainly  familiar  to  the  artist  himself 
before  ever  he  heard  even  the  name  of  Ivan  the  Terri- 
ble? And  here  is  yet  another  instance.  When  Anto- 
kolsky wished  to  create  a  type  of  a  lonely  recluse, 
writing  his  books  in  the  isolation  of  his  own  chamber, 
he  went  back  to  the  eleventh  century,  to  a  monastery 
in  Kieff,  to  find  the  well-known  Russian  monkish 
chronicler  Nestor;  whereas  he  had  seen  in  his  own 
birthplace,  Wilna,  a  recluse  type  of  a  much  broader 
human  appeal,  and  much  closer  to  himself  in  spirit — 
the  type,  I  mean,  of  the  "  perpetual  student "  whom  a 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  271 

Hebrew  poet  has  so  brilliantly  depicted/  the  recluse 
who  does  not  shut  himself  out  of  the  world  in  a  monas- 
tery, but  lives  in  society,  and  is  yet  as  far  as  any  monk 
from  the  bustle  and  turmoil  of  life,  knowing  no  world 
but  that  of  the  books  which  he  reads,  or,  if  he  is  a 
great  man,  the  books  which  he  writes.  When  Anto- 
kolsky  was  a  small  boy  he  must  certainly  have  listened 
with  reverence  to  the  stories  told  by  the  old  men  of  his 
town  about  the  great  recluse  who  lived  there  a  hundred 
years  before,  whose  whole  life  was  one  long  day  of 
study  and  writing,  without  pause  or  rest.  But  Anto- 
kolsky,  the  great  artist,  did  not  remember  the  Gaon  of 
Wilna,  who  fired  the  boy's  imagination :  he  wandered 
far  afield  to  a  medieval  Russian  monastery,  outside 
the  ken  of  himself  and  his  ancestors,  in  order  to  find 
there  what  he  could  have  found  among  his  own  people, 
and  in  his  own  town. 

Was  this  really  so  necessar}^  so  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare of  art  and  the  good  of  humanity,  that  we  have 
no  right  to  lament  our  loss,  and  to  lament  it  aloud? 

Yet  there  were  some  among  us  who  thought  it  their 
duty  to  hide  this  national  grief  under  the  veil  of  love 
for  humanity;  and  some  of  these  even  allowed  them- 
selves, according  to  reports  in  the  press,  to  bear  false 
witness  against  their  people  over  the  coffin,  actually 
congratulating  the  house  of  Israel  on  the  fact  that 

*  [Ch.  N.  Bialik,  the  greatest  poet  produced  by  the  modern 
Hebrew  revival,  has  drawn  in  his  "Ha-Matmid"  a  masterly 
picture  of  the  "perpetual  student,"  who  allows  himself  scarcely 
five  hours'  rest  in  the  twenty-four  from  the  study  of  the 
Talmud.] 


272  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

Antokolsky's  genius  and  his  creations  had  passed  into 
other  ownership !  ^  And  the  endeavor  to  show  the 
world  how  far  we  are  always  prepared  to  shrink  and 
double  ourselves  up  in  order  to  make  room  for  others, 
has  gone  to  such  lengths  that  Jewish  writers  have  not 
stopped  short  of  disclaiming,  with  gratuitous  generos- 
ity, the  characteristics  of  their  own  people,  and  ascrib- 
ing them  to  others,  in  order  that  they  might  be  able  to 
point  out  that  Antokolsky  was  a  Russian  to  the  very 
core.  "  The  characteristics  of  Antokolsky's  work,"  so 
writes  a  Jew  in  a  Jewish  paper,  "  are  essentially  char- 
acteristic of  Russian  art  in  general:  idealism  in  con- 
ception and  realism  in  execution You  cannot 

find  among  Antokolsky's  productions  even  one  dedi- 
cated exclusively  to  beauty  of  form,  say  of  the  human 
body.  He  always  looks  for  the  soul  abiding  in  that 
body."  ^  So  these  characteristics,  which  have  notori- 
ously distinguished  the  spirit  of  Israel  from  time  imme- 
morial, came  to  Antokolsky  not  from  his  own  people, 
but,  if  you  please,  because  he  acquired  "  the  essential 
characteristics  of  Russian  art  "  ! 

But  Antokolsky  is  not  the  only  Jew  who  has  conse- 
crated the  force  of  his  genius  to  the  service  of  an  alien 
people.  All  our  greatest  artists,  thinkers,  and  writers 
do  the  like.  They  leave  our  humble  cottage  as  soon 
as  they  feel  that  their  exceptional  abilities  will  open 
the  doors  of  splendid  palaces.  And  when  they  achieve 
greatness  and  renown,  we  gaze  at  their  elevation  from 

*  See  the  Voschod,  July  ii,  1902  (no.  28). 
'  The  Jewish  Chronicle,  July  25,  1902. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  273 

afar,  and  share  in  the  pride  and  the  joy  which  they 
feel  at  having  had  the  good  fortune  to  escape  from 
our  darkness  into  the  foreign  hght.  But  even  this 
pitiable  pride  of  ours  is  regarded  by  our  enemies  as 
the  height  of  impudence:  as  though  a  slave  should 
dare  to  remind  you  that  he  also  has  a  share  and  a 
stake  in  his  master's  property.  They  grow  rich  by 
our  poverty,  prosperous  by  our  decay;  and  then  they 
cry  out  on  this  despicable  nation,  which  has  not  a 
single  corner  of  its  own  in  the  temple  of  modern  cul- 
ture !  Such,  it  seems,  has  ever  been  our  fate.  Several 
nations  have  even  annexed  our  God,  and  now  scorn- 
fully ask  us,  "  Where  is  your  God?  " 

But  there  is  another  side  to  the  picture.  Our  best 
and  most  original  minds — those  whose  Hebrew  origi- 
nality reveals  itself,  in  their  own  despite,  even  when 
they  work  in  alien  fields — stand,  as  we  have  seen, 
outside  our  own  body  politic.  What  then  remains 
inside  ?  For  the  most  part,  only  the  smaller  minds  and 
those  of  poorer  grain ;  and  these  are  carried  away,  root 
and  branch,  by  the  current  of  the  alien  culture  in  the 
midst  of  which  they  live.  Thus  all  their  work  in  the 
sphere  of  Jewish  culture  is  in  the  main  nothing  but  an 
imitation  of  the  foreigner,  an  imitation  without  any 
quality  of  originality,  restraint,  insight,  or  proportion. 

There  is  one  department  of  learning  that  belongs 
wholly  to  us,  both  in  name  and  in  substance — I  mean 
the  so-called  "  Jewish  Science."  ^  Here  certainly  was 
an  outlet  for  our  intellectual  energies,  an  opportunity 

*[See  note  on  p.  65.] 
18 


274  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

for  US  to  reveal  our  latent  originality.  But  what  hap- 
pens in  practice?  The  most  eager  and  most  original 
workers  in  this  field  are  non-Jewish  scholars;  and 
these  are  slavishly  followed  and  imitated  by  the  Jewish 
scholars,  who  never  turn  a  hair's  breadth  from  the 
general  principles  and  lines  of  research  laid  down  by 
their  masters,  even  where  they  are  by  no  means  above 
criticism.  Until  quite  recently  there  was  no  sign  of 
any  attempt  on  the  part  of  Jewish  scholars  to  contro- 
vert even  this  axiom  of  Christian  investigators,  that 
the  historical  evidence  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature 
is  always  to  be  accepted  as  against  that  of  the  Talmud 
and  the  Midrashim,  where  the  two  are  in  conflict. 
It  is  only  this  year  that  a  Jewish  scholar  ^  has  exam- 
ined this  general  principle  in  connection  with  a  particu- 
lar question,  and  has  found  that  it  has  no  foundation, 
but  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  Talmudical  references 
are  more  in  accordance  with  historical  truth.  The 
logical  method  of  the  Talmud,  again,  has  not  yet  been 
thoroughly  investigated  by  Jewish  scholars;  and  the 
idea  which  the  outside  world  has  formed  of  the  Tal- 
mudic  style  of  argument,  that  it  is  opposed  to  true 
logic  and  sound  sense,  has  become  current  among  us 
also  to  such  an  extent  that  the  phrase  "  Talmudic 
sophism  "  has  become  with  us  a  nickname  for  every 
crooked  and  far-fetched  piece  of  quibbling.  But  last 
year  a  Jewish  scholar  ^   showed  that  the  Talmudic 

'  [Dr.  Biichler,  then  in  Vienna,  now  principal  of  Jews'  College 
London.] 
*  [Dr.  Schwarz,  of  Vienna.] 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  27s 

method  rests  on  sound  foundations,  and  will  repay 
study;  and  that,  in  fact,  the  difference  between  that 
method  and  Greek  logic  is  not  accidental,  and  does  not 
convict  the  Jewish  Rabbis  of  ignorance,  but  has  its 
roots  in  a  deep-seated  and  fundamental  difference  of 
spirit  between  the  Jews  and  the  Greeks. 

But  such  instances  of  independent  investigation, 
real  free-ihivikmg  we  may  call  it,  are  very  rare  in 
the  history  of  "  Jewish  Science,"  and  have  only  begun 
to  appear  recently ;  and  it  may  be  that  they  are  one  of 
the  results  of  the  modern  revival  of  the  spirit  of  nation- 
alism among  the  Jews.  However  that  may  be,  "  Jew- 
ish Science "  as  a  whole  is  still  a  bondslave  to  the 
alien;  the  genuine  Hebrew  spirit  has  not  found  full 
and  original  expression  in  this  movement,  as  we  might 
legitimately  have  hoped. 

But  in  truth  such  a  hope  was  not  legitimate,  not  if 
we  remember  in  what  manner  the  birth  and  growth 
of  the  "  Jewish  Science  "  movement  came  about,  and 
to  what  end  they  were  directed.  When  Jewish 
scholars  turned  their  eyes  to  the  past,  they  were  not 
impelled  to  do  so  by  something  within  them  that 
demanded  that  the  national  spirit  should  continue  to 
develop  in  the  future;  they  were  not  looking  for  a 
spiritual  thread  to  bind  together  all  the  successive 
phases  of  our  national  life;  they  were  not  seeking  to 
strengthen  this  thread  by  the  aid  of  a  clear  historic 
consciousness.  "  Jewish  Science  "  owes  its  being  not 
to  any  nationalist  impulse  of  this  kind,  but  to  other 
impulses   of   a  temporary   and   accidental  character. 


276  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

which  were  calculated  for  the  most  part  to  sever  the 
national  bond  not  merely  as  between  past  and  present, 
but  even  as  between  the  scattered  groups  into  which  the 
nation  is  divided  to-day.  Zunz,  who  led  the  founders  of 
the  movement,  regarded  it  as  a  means  of  converting  the 
world  to  more  friendly  feelings  towards  the  Jews,  and 
of  obtaining  the  supreme  ideal  of  those  days — equality 
of  rights.  Geiger  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into 
"  Jewish  Science,"  in  order  to  find  support  for  his 
great  ideal — religious  reform — which  was  itself  essen- 
tially a  means  to  the  acquisition  of  equal  rights.  Even 
Zechariah  Frankel,  who  was  closer  than  they  were  to 
the  Hebrew  spirit,  did  not  hesitate  to  publish  in  the 
"  sixties,"  at  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  numbers  of  the 
Monatsschrift  which  he  founded  for  "  Jewish  Science," 
the  opinion  that  the  national  life  of  the  Jews  of  Prus- 
sia had  ended  with  the  removal  of  the  last  of  their 
civil  disabilities  in  that  country,  and  that  thenceforth 
it  was  their  duty  to  give  themselves  whole-heartedly  to 
the  life  of  the  nation  in  which  they  lived.  Since, 
therefore,  he  went  on,  the  Jews  have  no  longer  a 
separate  history,  historical  investigation  of  their  past 
will  in  future  have  no  connection  with  their  life  in  the 
present  and  the  future,  but  will  be  a  purely  theoretical 
science.^  Such  ideas,  of  course,  could  not  restore  to 
the  Jewish  spirit  its  independence  and  its  capacity 
for  original  expression ;  and  so  "  Jewish  Science  "  be- 
came nothing  more  than  a  memorial  tablet  to  our  dead 
spiritual  activity. 

*  The  number  of  the  Monatsschrift  is  not  before  me  as  I  uTite, 
and  I^ive  the  substance  of  Frankel's  remarks  from  memory. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  277 

And  we  find  another  memorial  tablet  in  that  branch 
of  literary  work  in  which  the  national  spirit  of  every 
people  finds  its  chief  expression, — I  mean,  in  our 
national  literature. 

Our  "  national  literature  "  is  often  taken  in  a  wide 
sense,  to  include  everything  that  has  been  or  is  writ- 
ten by  men  of  Jewish  race  in  any  language.  If  we 
accept  .that  definition,  we  cannot  complain  of  the 
poverty  of  this  literature.  Heine's  love-poems,  Borne's 
crusade  against  the  political  reaction  in  Germany, 
Brandes'  critical  essays  on  all  the  literatures  in  the 
world  except  the  Hebrew — all  these  are  ours,  are  parts 
of  our  national  literature.  But  this  conception  is  fun- 
damentally wrong.  The  national  literature  of  any 
nation  is  only  that  which  is  written  in  its  own  national 
language.  When  an  individual  member  of  that  nation 
writes  in  a  foreign  language,  what  he  writes  may,  in- 
deed, reveal  traces  of  his  own  national  spirit,  even  if 
his  subject  has  no  connection  with  his  nation  (and  this 
is,  in  fact,  the  case  with  the  great  Jewish  writers  whom 
I  have  mentioned,  and  others  whom  I  have  not  men- 
tioned) ;  it  may  even  influence  the  history  of  his  nation, 
if  it  deals  with  questions  affecting  their  life.  But 
national  literature  it  is  not:  it  belongs  wholly  to  the 
general  body  of  literature  of  that  nation  in  whose 
language  it  is  written.  North  America  has  many  able 
writers ;  a  flood  of  new  books,  some  of  them  of  great 
merit,  pours  forth  there  every  year,  to  say  nothing  of 
innumerable  periodicals :  and  in  spite  of  this  the 
Americans  have  as  yet  no  real  national  literature,  be- 


278  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

cause  they  have  no  separate  national  language,  and 
there  is  no  clearly  defined  and  recognized  border  line 
between  American  literature  and  its  stronger  and 
richer  sister,  English  literature,  which  annexes  all  that 
is  written  in  the  English  language.  So  with  the  Swiss : 
their  literary  productions  go  to  swell  the  literature  of 
the  three  great  nations  in  whose  languages  they  write, 
and  they  themselves  have  no  national  literature  of  their 
own,  if  we  exclude  what  little  has  been  written  in  the 
prevailing  dialect  of  German  Switzerland. 

Our  national  literature,  then,  is  that  alone  which  is 
written  in  our  national  language;  it  does  not  include 
what  Jews  write  in  other  languages.  If  they  write 
on  subjects  which  concern  other  nations  as  well,  or 
other  nations  only,  their  books  belong  to  the  litera- 
ture of  the  nation  in  whose  language  they  are  written ; 
and  the  best  of  them  find  a  place  in  the  history  of  that 
literature,  though  not  always  a  place  commensurate 
with  their  value,  side  by  side  with  the  native  writers. 
If  they  write  exclusively  on  matters  concerning  the 
Jewish  people  and  its  national  life,  they  are  building 
themselves  a  Ghetto  in  a  foreign  literature:  and  this 
Ghetto,  like  any  other,  is  regarded  by  the  native  popu- 
lation as  of  no  account,  and  by  the  Hebrew  community 
as  a  merely  temporary  product,  which  is  not  destined 
to  endure  as  part  of  its  national  life,  which  it  may  and 
does  enjoy  at  that  time  and  in  that  place,  but  which 
cannot  call  forth,  as  a  national  literature  does,  a  living 
and  imperishable  sentiment.  Thus,  for  example,  our 
community  has  already  almost  forgotten  the  name  of 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  279 

Levanda:  his  sketches  of  Jewish  life  in  Russia,  which 
twenty  years  ago  were  still  among  the  most  popular 
in  Russian  Jewish  circles,  have  now  very  few  readers 
indeed.  But  Smolenskin's  stories,  very  similar  to 
those  of  Levanda  in  subject,  and  much  inferior  to 
them  in  ability  and  taste,  are  still  as  widely  read  and 
as  popular  as  though  they  had  been  written  yesterday. 
The  only  reason  that  I  can  find  for  this  difference  is 
that  Smolenskin  wrote  his  stories  in  Hebrew,  and 
Levanda  in  Russian.  This  example,  which  is  not 
unique,  proves  that  the  Jewish  nation  recognizes  as  its 
national  literature  only  what  is  written  in  its  own 
language.  For  this  reason  it  retains  its  afifection  for 
Smolenskin's  stories,  which  enriched  its  national  litera- 
ture, even  now  when  they  belong  to  a  bygone  age; 
while  writers  like  Levanda,  who  use  a  foreign  lan- 
guage, are  popular  only  so  long  as  their  books  are 
fresh,  and  are  then  forgotten,  being  indeed  but  a 
temporary  phenomenon,  which  had  its  uses  for  a  cer- 
tain time,  but  did  not  permanently  increase  the  national 
wealth.^ 

But  I  touch  here  on  a  fresh  question,  which  has 
come  to  the  front  only  in  our  own  time:    I  mean  the 

'  Even  Abraham  Geiger,  far  removed  as  he  was,  by  the  trend 
of  his  ideas,  from  recognizing  the  value  of  Hebrew  at  the 
present  day  as  the  national  language,  was  forced  to  confess  that 
Hebrew  works  of  scholarship  or  general  literature  are  much 
more  highly  valued  by  the  people,  and  retain  its  affection  and 
respect  much  longer  than  books  on  the  Jews  and  Judaism  writ- 
ten in  other  languages  (A.  Geiger,  Nachgelassene  Schriften, 
ii,  pp.  286-288). 


28o  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

question  of  the  "  Jargon."  Our  ancestors  in  every 
generation,  though  they  always  spoke  the  languages 
of  the  countries  to  which  they  were  exiled,  recog- 
nized beyond  all  shadow  of  doubt  that  we  had  but  one 
national  language — Hebrew.  Even  the  Jewish-Ger- 
man Jargon,  which  has  been  spoken  by  Jews  in 
Northern  Europe  for  so  many  centuries,  never  had 
for  them  any  greater  importance  than  the  other  lan- 
guages of  the  Diaspora,  and  they  used  it,  like  other 
languages,  only  under  compulsion,  for  the  sake  of  those 
who  were  ignorant  of  Hebrew. 

But  now  there  is  among  us  a  party  which  would 
raise  this  Jargon  to  the  dignity  of  a  national  language. 
Since,  they  argue,  the  majority  of  the  Jews  have  in 
course  of  time  acquired  a  new  language,  which  is 
peculiar  to  them,  and  is  not  shared  by  any  other 
people,  we  must  accept  facts  as  they  are,  and  acknowl- 
edge, whether  we  will  or  not,  that  this  is  our  national 
language  to-day,  and  not  Hebrew,  which  has  not  been 
spoken  for  two  thousand  years,  and  in  the  present 
generation  is  known  to  very  few  even  as  a  literary 
medium.  This  theory  as  to  the  national  language  leads 
logically  to  a  new  view  of  the  national  literature.  If 
the  Jargon  is  our  national  language,  then,  of  course, 
the  Jargon  literature  is  our  national  literature ;  and  as 
such  it  claims  our  affection  and  respect,  and  demands 
that  we  should  give  our  best  energies  to  the  task  of 
perfecting  it  and  making  it  worthy  of  its  honored 
name.  We  must  no  longer  waste  time  on  Hebrew 
literature,  which  is  a  mere  survival,  galvanized  for  the 
time  being  into  an  artificial  life. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  28  c 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  a  detailed  discus- 
sion of  this  question.  But  it  seems  to  me,  speaking 
generally,  that  it  is  just  the  upholders  of  the  view 
which  I  have  mentioned,  with  their  appeal  to  facts  as 
they  are,  who  really  turn  a  blind  eye  to  the  actual  facts, 
and  wish  to  create  an  artificial  state  of  things  on  an 
unstable  foundation. 

In  the  first  place,  the  actual  facts  of  history  are 
against  them.  Never  since  the  world  began  has  it 
happened  that  a  nation  has  accepted  as  its  national 
language  an  alien  tongue  acquired  in  a  strange  land, 
after  a  long  history  during  which  it  knew  nothing  of 
this  tongue,  but  had  another  national  language,  always 
recognized  as  such,  in  which  it  produced  a  literature 
of  wide  range  and  glorious  achievement,  expressing 
every  side  of  its  national  individuality.  There  is  not 
a  single  nation,  alive  or  dead,  of  which  we  can  say  that 
it  existed  before  its  national  language — that  whole 
periods  of  its  recorded  history  passed  away  before  its 
national  language  was  known  to  it.  No  man  can  re- 
gard as  his  own  natural  speech  any  language  which 
he  has  learned  after  arriving  at  manhood.  His  lan- 
guage is  that  in  which  his  cradle-songs  were  sung, 
that  which  took  root  in  his  being  before  he  knew 
himself,  and  grew  up  in  him  together  with  his  self- 
consciousness.  Similarly,  a  nation  has  no  national 
language  except  that  which  was  its  own  when  it  stood 
on  the  threshold  of  its  history,  before  its  national  self- 
consciousness  was  fully  developed — that  language 
which  has  accompanied  it  through  every  period  of  its 


282  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

career,    and    is    inextricably    bound    up    with    all    its 
memories. 

In  the  second  place,  the  actual  facts  of  the  present 
are  against  them.  This  Jargon,  though  it  is  to-day 
the  language  of  most  Jews,  is  gradually  being  forgot- 
ten all  over  the  world,  and  will  have  disappeared  some 
generations  hence.  In  America,  where  the  Jargon  and 
its  literature  are  most  flourishing  (save  the  mark!), 
it  is  in  reality  only  the  language  of  the  older  genera- 
tion, which  brought  it  from  Europe.  The  younger 
generation,  born  in  America  and  educated  in  Ameri- 
can schools,  speaks  English  and  does  not  understand 
the  Jargon.  If  not  for  the  yearly  inrush  of  Jargon- 
speaking  immigrants,  there  would  not  be  a  vestige  of 
the  language  left  in  the  New  World.  But  the  volume 
of  immigration  into  America  is  bound  in  the  nature  of 
things  to  decrease  in  course  of  time;  and  with  it  the 
Jargon-speaking  population  will  also  decrease,  until 
the  Jargon  is  extinct.  Even  in  its  native  countries — 
Russia,  Galicia,  and  Roumania — the  Jargon  is  being 
driven  to  the  wall  by  the  language  of  the  country, 
just  in  so  far  as  education  is  spreading  among  the 
Jews.  Thus,  even  at  the  present  day,  there  are  in 
those  countries  thousands  of  families  from  which  the 
Jargon  is  banished.  There  is  therefore  no  doubt  that 
before  long  Yiddish  will  cease  to  be  a  living  and  spoken 
language.  The  process  of  its  decay  is  an  inevitable 
outcome  of  the  conditions  of  life;  and  all  the  efforts 
of  its  supporters  to  raise  it  in  the  popular  estimation 
by  the  agency  of  an  attractive  literature  will  not  avail 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  283 

to  stem  this  process,  any  more  than  Hebrew  Htera- 
ture,  which  certainly  has  always  stood  high  in  the 
popular  estimation,  availed  to  preserve  Hebrew  as  a 
spoken  language  when  the  conditions  of  life  demanded 
its  abandonment  in  favor  of  other  forms  of  speech. 
Their  labors  in  the  service  of  Yiddish  can  have  only 
this  result:  that  after  two  or  three  generations  we 
shall  have  tzvo  dead  literary  languages,  instead  of 
one,  as  at  present,  and  that  our  descendants  will  con- 
sequently be  morally  bound,  in  the  name  of  national- 
ism, to  learn  both  of  them  from  books. 

But  I  am  confident  that  we  shall  not  be  brought  into 
this  absurd  position.  The  Jargon,  like  all  the  other 
languages  which  the  Jews  have  employed  at  different 
times,  never  has  been  and  never  will  be  regarded  by 
the  nation  as  anything  but  an  external  and  temporary 
medium  of  intercourse;  nor  can  its  literature  live  any 
longer  than  the  language  itself.  So  soon  as  the  Jargon 
ceases  to  be  spoken,  it  will  be  forgotten,  and  its  litera- 
ture with  it;  and  then  nobody  will  claim  for  it,  on  the 
ground  of  national  sentiment,  what  our  best  men  have 
always  claimed  for  Hebrew — that  it  should  be  an 
obligatory  subject  of  study. 

In  cases  of  aphasia  it  often  happens,  so  doctors  tell 
us,  that  the  patient  forgets  all  the  languages  that  he 
has  ever  learned  from  books,  including  even  the  one 
that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  using  before  his  malady 
began,  but  remembers  his  native  language — his  mother 
tongue — and  can  use  it  with  ease,  even  though  he  may 
not  have    spoken   it    since   his    childhood.      Such    is 


284  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

the  strength  of  the  natural,  organic  link  between  a 
human  being  and  his  own  language.  There  is  the 
same  link  between  a  nation  and  its  real  national  lan- 
guage. True,  an  evil  fate  has  bereft  us  of  our  national 
languag-e,  and  forced  us  to  use  others  in  its  stead;  but 
no  other  language  has  ever  ousted  it,  or  can  ever  oust 
it,  from  its  place  in  the  roots  of  our  being.  All  of 
them,  the  Jargon  not  excluded,  obtain  a  foothold  as  the 
result  of  temporary  circumstances,  and  lapse  into  ob- 
livion again  when  circumstances  change,  and  we  have 
no  further  need  of  them.  But  Hebrew  has  been  our 
language  ever  since  we  came  into  existence ;  and  He- 
brew alone  is  linked  to  us  inseparably  and  eternally  as 
part  of  our  being.  We  are  therefore  justified  in  con- 
cluding that  Hebrew  has  been,  is,  and  will  always  be, 
our  national  language ;  that  our  national  literature, 
throughout  all  time,  is  the  literature  written  in  Hebrew. 
We  are  at  liberty  to  use  any  other  language  that  is  gen- 
erally understood  among  our  people  for  the  diffusion 
of  ideas  and  knowledge;  and  such  use  undeniably 
serves  a  practical  purpose  for  the  time  being.  But  it 
is  a  very  long  step  from  this  temporary  usefulness  to 
the  dignity  of  an  undying  national  literature :  so  long 
a  step  that  it  is  matter  for  wonder  how  sane  men  can 
confuse  two  such  different  ideas.  Indeed,  if  I  am  not 
mistaken,  the  best  of  the  Jargon  writers  are  themselves 
conscious  that  the  Jargon  and  its  literature  are  doomed 
to  oblivion,  and  that  only  Hebrew  literature  can  sur- 
vive among  the  Jews  forever ;  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
that  they  have  their  works  translated  into  Hebrew,  in 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  285 

order  to  gain  them  admittance  into  our  national  litera- 
ture, and  to  secure  their  survival. 

I  have  dealt  perhaps  at  undue  length  with  this  ques- 
tion, which  is  not  an  essential  part  of  my  subject.  My 
excuse  must  be  that  I  could  not  pass  over  the  confu- 
sion of  thought  that  has  latterly  prevailed  among  us 
on  the  question  of  our  national  literature.  But  now  to 
return  to  our  subject. 

We  have  decided  that  Hebrew  literature  alone  is 
our  true  national  literature.  But  how  poor,  how 
meagre  has  this  literature  become  of  late  years ! 

Some  time  ago  I  had  occasion  to  discuss  the  present 
position  of  our  literature ;  ^  and  for  that  reason  I  do  not 
propose  now  to  enlarge  on  this  subject,  which  in  any 
case  calls  for  no  long  exposition.  Any  qualified  judge 
must  admit  that  our  literature  has  reached  a  high  level 
of  perfection  in  one  branch  only — that  of  self-adver- 
tisement. If  you  took  our  literature  at  its  own  present 
valuation,  you  might  suppose  that  it  was  achieving 
wonders  and  growing  richer  and  richer  every  day. 
But  the  sober  truth  is  that  this  self-advertisement  is 
the  sum  total  of  its  wealth :  it  is  a  case  of  vox  et 
prcEterea  nihil. 

Before  the  Haskalah  period  ^  we  had  indeed  an 
original  national  literature.  This  literature  is  open  to 
adverse  criticism  from  various  points  of  view :  it  may 
be  censured  alike  for  its  content  and  for  its  form, 
though  most  of  its  critics  have  exaggerated  its  de- 

'  In  the  essay  entitled  "After  Ten  Years"  [not  included  in 
this  translation]. 
'  [See  note  on  p.  64]. 


286  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

f  ects ;  but  at  least  it  cannot  be  denied  that  this  litera- 
ture is  ours,  that  it  was  a  product  of  the  Jewish  spirit, 
that  it  was  a  faithful  expression  of  the  contemporary 
inner  life  of  the  nation,  and  that  all  our  best  intellects 
contributed  to  its  making  in  each  successive  age.  But 
in  recent  times,  from  the  day  when  we  left  the  Ghetto, 
and  began  to  scatter  our  energies  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven,  our  literature  has  been  smitten  by  the  same 
curse  that  has  fallen  on  every  branch  of  our  national 
culture.  The  really  original  intellects  desert  their  own 
poverty-stricken  people,  and  give  their  efforts  .to  the 
enrichment  of  those  who  are  already  rich ;  while  our 
literature  remains  a  barren  field  for  dullards  and 
mediocrities  to  trample  on,  with  that  excessive  unre- 
straint which  a  man  may  use  in  his  own  bedroom. 
Even  what  is  good  in  our  literature — the  work  of  the 
few  writers  who  deserve  the  name — is  good  only  in 
that  it  resembles  more  or  less  the  good  products  of 
other  literatures.  From  the  beginning  of  modern 
Hebrew  literature  to  the  present  day  we  have  pro- 
duced scarce  one  really  original  book  to  which  we 
could  point  as  an  individual  expression  of  our  national 
spirit.  It  is  almost  all  translation  or  imitation,  and 
for  the  most  part  badly  done  at  that:  the  translation 
being  too  far  from  the  original,  and  the  imitation  too 
near.  And  the  translation  and  the  imitation  have 
this  in  common,  that  they  are  foreign  in  spirit.  We 
cannot  feel  that  our  national  life  is  linked  with  a  litera- 
ture like  this,  which  is  in  its  essence  nothing  but  a 
purveyor  of  foreign  goods,  presenting  the  ideas  and 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  287 

feelings  of  foreign  writers  in  a  vastly  inferior  form. 

With  shame  we  must  confess  it :  if  we  wish  to  find 
even  the  shadow  of  an  original  literature  in  the  modern 
period,  we  have  to  turn  to  the  literature  of  Hasidism, 
which,  with  all  its  follies,  has  here  and  .there  a  pro- 
found idea,  stamped  with  the  hall-mark  of  Hebrew 
originality.  The  Haskalah  literature  has  not  nearly  so 
much  to  show. 

Such,  then,  is  the  condition  of  our  national  culture  in 
all  its  branches. 

The  whole  world  is  reverberating  just  now  with  the 
cry  of  our  wandering  poor  for  bread.  Help  is  offered 
from  every  side,  in  large  measure  or  in  small.  In  time 
they  will  find  a  resting-place,  though  it  be  only  tem- 
porary, one  here,  one  there,  and  the  Jewish  people 
will  not  be  wiped  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  But  mean- 
while the  rot  is  spreading  internally,  and  no  cry  is 
raised.  Our  national  spirit  is  perishing,  and  not  a 
word  is  said ;  our  national  heritage  is  coming  .to  an  end 
before  our  very  eyes,  and  we  are  silent. 

Deep  indeed  must  be  our  degradation,  if  we  have 
no  understanding,  no  feeling  left  for  anything  but  the 
physical  suffering  which  touches  our  flesh  and  bone. 

There  are  indeed  a  few  individuals  among  the 
Zionists  who  recognize  and  acknowledge  that  the  spirit- 
ual trouble  of  which  I  have  spoken  hitherto  is  fraught 
with  danger  to  our  people's  future  no  less  than  the 
physical  trouble ;  and  that  a  "  home  of  refuge  "  for 
the  national  spirit  is  therefore  not  less  imperatively 
necessary  than  a  home  of  refuge   for  our  homeless 


288  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

wanderers.  But  they  imagine  that  there  is  one  method 
of  solving  both  problems ;  that  the  very  attempt  to 
create  a  healthy  and  well-ordered  settlement  in  Pales- 
tine involves  the  creation  of  that  national  basis  which 
is  necessary  for  the  revival  of  the  national  spirit  in 
that  country — that  basis  without  which  we  cannot  hope 
to  give  firmness  and  stability  to  the  national  spiritual 
centre  of  our  aspirations.  It  is,  indeed,  impossible  to 
maintain  that  the  material  settlement  has  no  bearing 
on  our  spiritual  problem,  or  that  this  problem  can  be 
solved  without  the  aid  of  such  a  settlement.  On  the 
contrary,  the  whole  point  of  the  material  settlement 
consists,  to  my  mind,  in  this — and  it  makes  no  differ- 
ence whether  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  work  of 
settlement  realize  it  or  not — that  it  can  be  the  founda- 
tion of  that  national  spiritual  centre  which  is  destined 
to  be  created  in  our  ancestral  country  in  response  to  a 
real  and  insistent  national  demand.  The  material 
problem,  on  the  other  hand,  will  not  disappear  even 
after  the  creation  of  a  home  of  refuge,  because  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  things  immigration  into  the  Jewish 
settlement  cannot  counterbalance  the  natural  increase 
of  the  Jews  in  those  countries  where  the  majority  of 
them  live  at  present.  I  have  endeavored  to  make  this 
clear  in  other  essays,  which  probably  are  familiar  to 
most  of  my  readers  ;  ^  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  enlarge 

'  [The  reference  is  to  a  number  of  controversial  Essays  in 
which  the  author  criticised  the  Herzlian  conception  of  Zionism. 
These  Essays,  which  are  familiar  to  most  readers  of  Hebrew, 
are  not  included  in  the  present  translation.] 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  289 

on  the  subject  here.  But  it  does  not  at  all  follow  from 
this  admission  that  we  must  pay  no  attention  for  the 
present  to  the  spiritual  revival,  but  must  sit  and  wait 
with  folded  arms  until  it  comes  of  itself,  until,  that  is, 
the  material  settlement  is  sufficiently  established  and 
completed.  It  is  impossible,  in  my  opinion,  to  deny  that 
only  a  very  large  settlement  could  be  sufficient  for 
that  purpose.  Not  twenty  agricultural  colonies,  not 
even  a  hundred,  though  they  be  never  so  well  ordered, 
can  automatically  effect  our  spiritual  salvation,  in  the 
sense  of  a  reunion  of  our  scattered  forces  and  their 
concentration  in  the  service  of  the  national  culture. 
That  result  may  be  achieved  when  we  have  an  exten- 
sive and  complete  national  centre,  embracing  every 
department  of  human  life,  and  producing  in  each  de- 
partment new  demands  and  new  means  to  their  ful- 
filment. But  can  we  sit  and  wait  for  the  realization 
of  this  great  dream — a  realization  which,  by  universal 
admission,  cannot  be  speedy — and  meanwhile  allow 
our  spiritual  strength  to  waste  away  before  our  very 
eyes? 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  maintain  that  work  for 
the  national  revival  cannot  be  confined  to  the  material 
settlement  alone.  We  must  take  hold  of  both  ends  of 
the  stick.  On  the  one  side,  we  must  work  for  the 
creation  of  an  extensive  and  well-ordered  settlement 
in  our  ancestral  land ;  but  on  the  other  side  we  are 
not  at  liberty  to  neglect  the  effort  to  create  there,  at 
the  same  time,  a  fixed  and  independent  centre  for  our 
national  culture,  for  learning,  art,  and  literature.  Little 
19 


290  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

by  little,  willing  hands  must  be  brought  into  our  coun- 
try, to  repair  its  ruins  and  restore  its  pristine  glories; 
but  at  the  same  time  we  must  have  hearts  and  minds, 
endowed  with  knowledge  and  sympathy  and  ability, 
to  repair  our  spiritual  ruins,  and  restore  to  our  nation 
its  glorious  name  and  its  rightful  place  in  the  comity 
of  human  culture.  And  so  the  foundation  of  a  single 
great  school  of  learning  or  art  in  Palestine,  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  single  university  for  the  study  of  lan- 
guage and  literature,  would  be,  to  my  mind,  a  national 
work  of  the  highest  importance,  and  would  do  more 
to  bring  us  near  to  our  goal  than  a  hundred  agricul- 
tural colonies.  For  such  colonies  are,  as  I  have  said, 
nothing  more  than  bricks  for  the  building  of  the 
future :  in  themselves  they  cannot  yet  be  regarded  as  a 
central  force  capable  of  moulding  anew  the  life  of  the 
whole  people.  But  a  great  educational  institution  in 
Palestine,  which  should  attract  Jews  of  learning  and 
ability  in  large  numbers  to  carry  on  their  work  on 
Jewish  national  lines  in  a  true  Jewish  spirit,  without 
constraint  or  undue  influence  from  without,  might  even 
now  rejuvenate  the  whole  people  and  breathe  new  life 
into  Judaism  and  Jewish  literature. 

I  know  full  well  that  such  is  not  the  usual  course 
of  things.  In  every  nation  which  develops  in  a  healthy 
and  natural  way,  the  development  starts  from  below 
and  proceeds  upwards.  First  of  all,  the  economic  and 
political  foundations  of  the  national  life  are  consoli- 
dated; and  it  is  only  after  creating  such  external  con- 
ditions as  are  favorable  to  its  survival  that  the  nation 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  291 

turns  to  less  material  things,  and  produces  what  it  is 
capable  of  producing  in  the  domain  of  culture.  That 
is  the  course  of  development  of  a  young  nation,  new 
to  the  stage  of  history,  which  mounts  the  ladder  of 
progress  rung  by  rung.  But  with  the  Jews  it  is  dif- 
ferent. They  climbed  the  lower  rungs  of  the  ladder 
thousands  of  years  ago,  and  then,  after  they  had  at- 
tained to  a  high  stage  of  culture,  their  natural  progress 
was  forcibly  arrested :  the  ground  was  cut  away  from 
under  their  feet,  and  they  were  left  hanging  in  mid- 
air, burdened  with  a  heavy  pack  of  valuable  spiritual 
goods,  but  robbed  of  any  basis  for  a  healthy  existence 
and  a  free  development.  Generations  came  and  went 
— and  still  this  wretched  nation  was  left  hanging  in 
mid-air,  exerting  all  its  remaining  strength  to  preserve 
its  inheritance  of  culture,  and  to  save  itself  from  fall- 
ing below  the  level  which  it  had  reached  in  its  more 
prosperous  days.  And  now,  when  its  life  is  illumined 
by  a  spark  of  hope,  when  it  dreams  of  a  return  to  the 
solid  earth,  of  a  national  life  based  on  secure  and 
natural  foundations — can  we  now  bid  this  nation  throw 
away  its  spiritual  burden,  so  as  to  be  able  the  more 
easily  to  concentrate  on  the  material  work  which  should 
come  first  in  the  natural  order  of  things,  and  then 
afterwards  begin  again  from  the  bottom  of  the  ladder, 
in  the  customary  way? 

"  There  is  nothing  in  the  universal  that  is  not  in  the 
particulars."  There  is  no  nation  so  rich  as  ours  in  men 
who  combine  a  highly  developed  intellect  with  an  ele- 
mentary ignorance  of  the  alphabet  of  culture,  and  are 


292  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

forced  to  make  up  this  deficiency  after  they  have 
reached  maturity  and  acquired  a  large  stock  of  know- 
ledge. Solomon  Maimon,  for  example,  went  to  school, 
and  learned  German  and  other  subjects  together  with 
children,  when  he  had  arrived  at  middle  age,  and  was 
known  in  Germany  as  a  profound  philosopher.  Now 
what  would  he  have  said,  and  others  like  him  (and 
there  have  been  many  Jews  of  this  type  in  the  past 
few  generations),  if  some  fatuous  person  had  ad- 
vised them  to  forget  all  that  they  had  learned  before, 
and  to  devote  their  whole  mind  to  the  elementary  sub- 
jects, until  they  should  attain  once  more,  slowly 
and  laboriously,  to  the  rank  of  educated  men,  progress- 
ing from  the  simple  to  the  difficult,  as  other  mortals 
do?  The  Jews  as  a  nation  are  in  an  analogous  posi- 
tion, child  and  grown  man  in  one.  The  Jewish  nation 
emerged  from  childhood  a  hundred  generations  back, 
and  now  demands  the  food  of  grown  men ;  but  the  con- 
ditions under  which  it  lives  compel  it  to  go  to  kinder- 
garten again,  and  to  master  the  alphabet  of  national 
life.  What  then  is  it  to  do?  "  It  is  good  that  thou 
shouldst  take  hold  of  this ;  yea,  also  from  that  with- 
draw not  thy  hand " :  build  from  below  and  from 
above  at  the  same  time!  Of  course,  nation  building 
in  this  style  is  something  abnormal.  But  then  our 
life  altogether  is  abnormal ;  and  build  how  we  will, 
the  building  must  be  something  quite  without  prece- 
dent. In  this  matter,  therefore,  we  must  not  look  for 
guidance  to  the  history  of  other  nations:  we  must  do 
what  our  peculiar  position  forces  us  to  do,  relying  on 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  293 

our  nation's  strength  of  will  and  power  of  endurance, 
which  have  preserved  it  miraculously  to  the  present 
day,  and  will  be  its  savior  in  the  future. 

But  we  must  recognize  at  the  outset  that  this  pro- 
gramme of  a  spiritual  "  back  to  the  land,"  if  one  may 
so  call  it,  of  the  re-centralization  of  our  spiritual 
potentialities,  is  not  one  which  can  be  carried  out  easily, 
and  as  it  were  by  the  way.  To  lay  the  foundations  of 
a  spiritual  "  refuge  "  for  our  national  culture  demands 
perhaps  preparations  no  less  elaborate,  and  resources  no 
less  extensive,  than  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  material 
refuge  for  persecuted  Jews.  And  besides  the  work 
of  preparation  for  the  future,  there  is  also  a  great  deal 
of  work  to  be  done  in  the  present.  We  are  all  familiar 
with  the  division  in  the  Zionist  camp  on  the  question 
of  the  immediate  programme.  For  my  own  part,  I 
am  of  opinion  that  work  for  the  improvement  of  the 
material  and  political  position  of  the  Jews  in  the 
Diaspora,  though  it  is  undoubtedly  necessary  and  use- 
ful as  a  temporary  measure  of  relief,  however  slight, 
and  though  it  has,  therefore,  undeniable  claims  on  all 
who  have  the  opportunity  of  taking  part  in  such  work, 
is  yet  not  properly  to  be  included  in  the  work  essential 
to  Zionism.  Life  in  exile,  at  its  best,  will  always 
remain  life  in  exile ;  that  is  to  say,  it  will  always  remain 
the  opposite  of  that  free  national  life  which  is  the  aim 
of  the  Zionist  movement:  and  one  movement  cannot 
concern  itself  with  two  opposites.  But  it  is  different 
in  the  case  of  cultural  work.  Our  national  creative 
power,  as  I  have  said  above,  remains  the  same  in  all 


294  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

ages;  and  it  has  not  ceased  even  in  exile  to  work  in 
its  own  specific  fashion.  Hence,  every  atom  of  that 
power  which  is  severed  from  its  original  source,  and 
floats  away  into  a  strange  world,  is  an  irreparable  loss 
to  the  nation.  To  gather  these  atoms  together,  and 
keep  them  in  our  own  world  for  the  benefit  of  our  own 
national  culture,  is  essentially  Zionist  work,  because  it 
adds  to  our  spiritual  wealth  in  the  present,  and  also 
prepares  the  way  for  the  greater  cultural  work  that 
is  to  come  after  the  establishment  of  the  centre  in 
Palestine.  That  centre  once  established,  Palestine 
will  make  use  of  the  products  of  these  forces,  and  will 
enable  their  activity  to  be  carried  on  in  a  more  com- 
plete and  perfect  manner. 

This  is  a  long  and  arduous  task,  and  certainly  de- 
mands a  powerful  and  well-knit  organization,  the  busi- 
ness of  which  will  be  to  gather  the  necessary  resources 
without  delay,  and  to  keep  constant  watch  over  these 
erring  atoms  of  spiritual  force,  so  that  they  may  neither 
waste  away  unheard  of,  nor  be  attracted  outside  the 
confines  of  Judaism.  The  organization  will  have  to 
support  every  achievement  or  creation  of  promise  in 
any  branch  of  culture,  always  with  an  eye  to  a  gradual 
approach  towards  its  real  goal — the  establishment  of  the 
spiritual  centre  in  Palestine.  Now  the  Zionist  organ- 
ization of  to-day,  with  all  its  faults,  is  as  yet  the  only 
Jewish  institution  brought  into  being  for  the  sake  of  the 
national  revival.  But  it  cannot  possibly  be  saddled 
also  with  the  task  of  reviving  the  national  culture.  In 
the  first  place,  it  has  enough  to  do  in  propagating  the 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  295 

idea,  in  educating  people  up  to  its  aims,  and  strength- 
ening its  own  institutions:  indeed,  these  objects,  which 
he  nearest  to  its  intention  and  aim,  are  already  beyond 
its  strength.  Secondly,  no  single  organization  can 
pursue  two  objects  which,  however  closely  connected, 
are  different  in  character,  and  demand  different  means 
and  different  men.  The  man  who  is  able  to  collect 
funds  and  sell  shares  is  not  necessarily  able  to  recog- 
nize a  budding  literary  talent,  and  to  further  its  de- 
velopment. The  man  with  a  gift  for  diplomacy 
and  political  organization  may  not  be  the  ideal  leader 
for  a  spiritual  movement,  or  the  man  best  able  to 
organize  educational  and  literary  effort.  Thirdly,  there 
is  not  as  yet  complete  unanimity  among  nationalist 
Jews  as  regards  either  the  means  or  the  end  of  the 
national  movement.  We  have,  on  the  one  side,  the 
"  political "  Zionists,  who  regard  the  spiritual  aspect 
as  subsidiary  and  not  worth  the  trouble;  we  have,  at 
the  other  extreme,  the  "  spiritual  "  Zionists,  who  are 
dissatisfied  with  all  "  political "  work,  at  least  in  its 
present  form,  and  think  it  useless.  We  have,  further, 
"  nationalists  "  of  different  kinds,  who  do  not  believe 
in  Zionism  at  all,  but  have  a  regard  for  the  national 
culture,  and  think  that  the  concentration  of  effort  on 
its  promotion  is  a  great  national  object,  which  deserves 
the  widest  support.  This  being  so,  if  we  wish  not  to 
waste  any  of  our  strength,  which  is  little  enough  as 
it  is,  but  to  use  it  all  in  the  service  of  the  general 
culture,  finding  for  each  individual  his  proper  work, 
we  must  establish  a  special  organization  for  cultural 


296  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

work.  That  organization  will  attract  to  itself  all  those 
who  appreciate  the  value  of  the  national  culture,  and 
make  its  extension  and  free  development  their  aim, 
whether  they  are  Zionists  in  the  official  sense,  or  not. 
All  its  machinery  and  its  activities  must  be  directed 
solely  to  its  own  end;  it  must  neither  subserve  the 
political  organization  nor  be  dependent  on  its  opinion. 
It  is  of  course  obvious  that  the  two  organizations, 
aiming,  as  they  do  after  all  aim,  at  the  same  end — 
that  of  the  revival  of  Israel — and  differing  only  in 
that  they  approach  the  goal  from  different  sides,  must 
be  closely  interconnected,  and  be  in  constant  need  of 
each  other.  But  if  only  they  both  understand  the 
ultimate  object  which  they  have  in  common,  their  rela- 
tion will  not  be  one  of  jealousy  and  competition,  but 
one  of  peace  and  harmony  and  constant  mutual  assist- 
ance. There  will  perhaps  be  more  unity  than  there 
is  at  present  within  the  Zionist  organization  between 
the  different  elements  which  are  mixed  up  together, 
and  are' pulling  Zionism  this  way  and  that. 

This  brings  us  to  the  second  branch  of  cultural  work. 
This  side  of  the  question  is  in  reality  much  simpler 
than  the  other  aspect,  and  needs  no  long  exposition. 

Does  the  Jewish  people  as  a  whole  stand  in  need 
of  improvement  from  the  point  of  view  of  culture? 

Some  months  ago  a  Jewish  writer  in  a  Russian 
periodical  tried  to  prove  that  the  Jews  ought  not  to 
complain,  because  they  are  on  a  higher  level  of  culture 
ithan  the  nations  among  which  they  live.    The  Jews, 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  297 

he  points  out,  can  read  and  write,  and  are  endowed 
with  exceptional  intellectual  and  psychological  quali- 
ties, wl  ich  enable  them  everywhere  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  surrounding  conditions  much  more  readily 
than  other  nations.  Why,  then,  should  they  grumble? 
The  whole  cry  has  been  raised  by  a  few  atrabilious 
scribblers  on  the  lookout  for  a  grievance;  it  is  they 
who  are  responsible  for  the  invention  of  the  "  Jewish 
tragedy." 

This  kind  of  reasoning  is  characteristic  of  slaves, 
whose  highest  ideal  is  to  be  entirely  like  their  masters. 
The  master  is  the  criterion  by  which  they  measure 
themselves  and  their  own  worth.  If  they  find  that 
they  come  up  to  the  standard  and  have  no  need  to  be 
ashamed  before  their  master,  they  think  themselves 
lucky,  and  do  not  dare  to  ask  for  anything  more.  But 
the  free  man  measures  himself  and  his  standing  by 
his  own  measure,  not  by  other  people's.  His  ideal 
is  not  to  attain  to  the  level  of  the  men  around  him, 
but  to  rise  as  high  as  his  own  powers  enable  him  to 
rise.  If  circumstances  hinder  his  development,  and 
do  not  allow  him  to  put  forth  his  powers  to  their  full 
extent  and  realize  all  the  possibilities  of  his  individual- 
ity, he  suffers  untold  agonies,  and  it  is  no  comfort  to 
him  that  even  as  things  are  he  is  superior  to  many 
other  men.  Take  a  young  Jew  in  some  benighted 
village,  who  is  spending  himself  in  the  search  after 
knowledge,  and  eating  out  his  heart  because  he  cannot 
burst  the  trammels  and  find  free  scope  for  his  self-de- 
velopment, and  ask  him  why  he  is  discontented — point 


298  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

out  to  him  that  even  as  things  are  he  has  attained  to  a 
higher  level  of  culture  than  many  men  in  the  big 
cities,  and  that  he  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  that.  He 
will  tell  you  that  the  man  must  be  utterly  cramped  in 
mind  and  devoid  of  sensibility  who  does  not  feel  the 
enormous  tragedy  of  the  soul  conscious  of  manifold 
powers  that  seek  an  outlet  and  find  none. 

If  we  estimate  the  cultural  position  of  the  Jewish 
people  by  this  criterion,  we  shall  have  to  admit  that  it 
is  very  unsatisfactory,  and  much  worse  than  that  of 
other  nations.  Every  other  nation  is  free  to  climb  as 
high  on  the  ladder  of  culture  as  its  strength  allows. 
If  it  stops  at  an  early  stage,  that  only  proves,  unfor- 
tunately for  this  particular  nation,  that  it  is  not  fit 
to  mount  higher.  But  we  Jews  are  hemmed  in  by 
obstacles  of  all  kinds.  We  are  compelled  to  fight  at 
every  turn,  with  what  strength  we  have  left,  for  things 
which  every  other  nation  obtains  without  a  struggle. 
When  we  see  that,  in  spite  of  all,  we  are  not  inferior 
to  other  nations,  and  need  not  be  ashamed  of  ourselves, 
this  should  not  console  us;  on  the  contrary,  it  ought 
to  be  galling  to  us  to  see  how  much  further  we  might 
rise,  if  we  too  could  use  our  powers  without  hindrance, 
and  if  each  of  us  could  develop  in  the  way  best  suited 
to  him,  as  other  men  do.  None  but  a  slave  could  fail 
to  feel  or  could  deny  the  national  tragedy  involved  in 
the  inability  to  rise  to  the  level  of  culture  for  which 
we  are  fitted  by  our  inherent  powers. 

Beyond  doubt,  therefore,  there  is  an  urgent  need  for 
the  improvement  of  our  position  from  the  point  of 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  299 

view  of  culture.  But  this  is  not  ut  itself  a  task  for 
Zionism ;  it  only  becomes  so  because  of  its  national 
aspect.  Zionism  need  not  and  cannot  be  a  sort  of 
"  Association  for  the  Diffusion  of  Enlightenment,"  ^ 
because  enlightenment  as  such  has  no  necessary  con- 
nection with  the  Zionist  ideal,  and  many  people  are 
engaged  in  "  diffusing "  it  without  the  assistance  of 
Zionism.  Modern  life  of  its  own  accord  forces  Jews 
to  pursue  enlightenment ;  and  even  the  best  minds  of 
the  "  upper  ten "  of  Jewry  have  been  accustomed 
these  three  generations  to  work  strenuously  for 
the  enlightenment  of  the  people,  seeking  in  this  way  to 
satisfy  that  national  instinct  which  occasionally  impels 
them  to  demonstrate  in  some  tangible  fashion  that  there 
is  a  link  between  them  and  their  nation.  Hence  Zion- 
ism has  no  need  to  undertake  this  task;  it  would  be 
simply  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle.  But,  on  the  other 
side,  Zionism  is  bound  to  supply  this  work  of  enlight- 
enment with  the  'nationalist  basis  which  it  lacks  at 
present.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  inwardness  of 
that  enlightenment  which  our  philanthropic  benefac- 
tors are  endeavoring  to  spread  among  the  Jews.  We 
know  that  its  growth  is  in  inverse  proportion  to  the 
development  of  the  national  spirit,  which  dwindles 
ever  more  and  more  as  this  enlightenment  spreads. 
Hence  the  improvement  of  our  cultural  position,  which 
should  be,  as  with  other  nations,  an  elixir  of  life  for 
the  people,  inspiring  it  with  new  strength  and  vigor 
in  its  struggle  for  existence,  has  become  a  poison,  bring- 

*  [As  to  "  Enlightenment  "  see  note  on  p.  64.] 


300  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

ing  in  its  train  nothing  but  death  and  disintegration. 
For  this  reason  Zionism,  which  aims  at  the  revival  of 
the  national  spirit,  cannot  exclude  popular  enlighten- 
ment from  the  sphere  of  its  proper  work,  and  allow 
its  opponents  to  use  this  force  for  their  own  ends. 
To  exercise  a  wise  guidance  over  the  movement  for 
the  diffusion  of  enlightenment ;  to  secure  that  it  shall 
be  conducted  in  the  national  spirit,  and  shall  be  produc- 
tive of  good  to  the  nation ;  to  wage  incessant  warfare 
against  the  alien  spirit  which  is  artificially  introduced 
into  our  midst  along  with  enlightenment,  though  the  two 
have  no  essential  connection — this  is  one  of  the  most 
important  branches  of  Zionist  work.  Zionism,  we  must 
all  agree,  has  need  not  only  of  subscriptions  and  shares, 
but  even  more  of  souls.  One  Jewish  soul  saved  from 
the  snare  of  assimilation  is  worth  never  so  many  shares. 
At  one  of  the  earlier  Congresses  the  battle-cry  went 
forth,  "  Win  over  the  synagogue  organization."  Zion- 
ists everywhere  responded  obediently,  and  spent  much 
time  and  effort  in  an  unequal  struggle  with  the  com- 
munal leaders.  But  so  far  their  labor  has  scarcely 
anywhere  had  any  tangible  results.  Indeed,  it  would 
have  been  better,  in  my  opinion,  if  the  watchword 
had  been,  "  Win  over  the  educational  organization." 
In  the  synagogue  we  have  to  deal  with  the  parents,  in 
the  schools  with  the  children.  To  conquer  the  parents, 
to  infuse  a  new  spirit  into  grown  men  who  have 
already  settled  down  into  a  certain  way  of  life,  whose 
opinions  and  feelings  have  already  become,  as  it 
were,  stereotyped,  would  be  a  matter  of  more  labor 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  301 

than  profit;  the  small  results  would  not  generally 
be  worth  the  expenditure  of  energy.  Surely,  it  were 
better  for  our  purpose  to  lay  out  this  energy  on  the 
conquest  of  the  children.  In  them  we  have  a  clean 
sheet  on  which  we  may  write  what  we  will.  If  in 
course  of  time  we  can  put  into  the  field  a  large 
squadron  of  younger  men  to  fight  their  elders,  the 
products  of  the  school  against  the  leaders  of  the  syna- 
gogue, where  will  the  victory  lie?  History  bears  wit- 
ness that  in  a  war  of  parents  and  children  it  is  always 
the  children  who  win  in  the  end;  the  future  is  theirs. 
But  the  duty  of  Zionists  in  the  sphere  of  education 
is  not  confined  to  schools  of  the  "  enlightened  "  type. 
We  must  remember  that,  side  by  side  with  the  "  im- 
proved "  education  of  to-day,  we  have  also  the  old 
traditional  system,  which  is  no  doubt  losing  ground 
every  year,  but  is  still  strong,  is  struggling  hard  for 
its  existence,  and  will  undoubtedly  play  an  important 
part  in  our  national  life  for  many  years  to  come,  in- 
fluencing by  its  method  and  its  spirit  the  education 
and  upbuilding  of  tens  of  thousands  of  Jewish  children. 
This  being  so,  we  are  bound  to  pay  attention  to  this 
system  of  education  also,  and  reform  it  too,  in  a  man- 
ner suited  to  our  purpose.  We  must  not,  indeed, 
set  out  with  the  idea  that  the  traditional  system  is 
opposed,  like  the  "  improved "  system  as  at  present 
used,  to  our  national  spirit.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
atmosphere  of  the  Heder  is  Jewish  through  and 
through.  The  picture  of  "  the  community  of  Israel," 
with  its  sorrows  and  its  hopes,  is  placed  in  the  fore- 


302  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

ground  of  the  children's  daily  life  in  the  Heder,  and 
works  itself  ineradicably  into  the  texture  of  their 
minds.  There  is  not  a  book  in  the  Heder  but  reminds 
its  young  readers  of  their  people  and  its  history  in 
happiness  and  in  exile.  Even  the  Song  of  Songs,  the 
only  love-song  left  to  our  people  from  the  days  of  its 
youth,  is  metamorphosed  into  a  national  hymn,  wherein 
the  community  of  Israel  pours  out  her  heart  before 
her  "  Beloved,"  weeps  and  smiles,  entreats  and  yearns ; 
and  the  Song  inspires  in  the  hearts  of  the  tender 
Heder  children  a  love  for  their  nation  that  passes  all 
bounds.  Yet  it  is  obvious  and  undeniable,  however 
extraordinary,  that  most  orthodox  Jews  who  have  been 
trained  in  this  system,  for  all  their  devotion  to  the  com- 
munity of  Israel,  are  unable  to  understand  the  ideal 
of  the  regeneration  of  Israel  as  a  people.  The  masses 
stand  aloof,  and  regard  the  new  movement  with  com- 
plete indifference ;  and  their  leaders  are  mostly  opposed 
to  it,  and  try,  by  every  means  that  jealousy  and  hatred 
can  suggest,  to  put  obstacles  in  its  path. 

This  is  not  the  place  for  a  lengthy  explanation  of  the 
causes  of  this  inconsistency.  But  I  think  it  right  to 
mention  here  an  expression  used  by  a  well-known 
Rabbi  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  on  culture  at  the 
last  Congress.  "  In  my  opinion,"  he  said,  with  an 
allusion  to  his  orthodox  friends,  "  a  Jew  who  is  no 
Zionist  is  still  a  Jew ;  but  he  is  not  a  logical  Jew."  ^ 
No  doubt  the  Rabbi  meant  that  the  Jew  who  is  con- 

'  Report  of  the  Sixth  Congress,  p.  394. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  303 

cerned  for  his  national  possessions,  and  has  been 
accustomed  from  the  eadiest  years  of  childhood  to 
mourn  his  people's  ruin  and  dream  of  its  restoration, 
must,  if  he  were  logical,  be  thrilled  at  the  trumpet-call 
of  the  revival,  and  be  one  of  the  first  to  put  hand  and 
heart  to  the  work.  If  he  fails  to  do  so,  it  is  simply  a 
mistake,  due  to  lack  of  logic.  This  explanation  cannot, 
indeed,  be  considered  satisfactory  to-day,  when  philos- 
ophers have  taught  us  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a 
'*  mistake,"  and  that  men's  loves  and  hates  are  not  dic- 
tated by  logic.  But  for  our  present  purpose  we  need  not 
go  deeply  into  the  question.  Even  if  we  agree  with  the 
Rabbi  that  nothing  but  a  lack  of  logic  is  responsible, 
we  must  still  admit  that,  since  these  lack-logics  are  the 
majority  of  the  products  of  the  Heder,  this  fact  can- 
not be  a  mere  accident,  but  there  must  be  some  fault 
inherent  in  the  educational  system  of  the  Heder,  which 
perverts  its  pupils'  sense  of  logic,  and  makes  them 
unable  to  understand  or  feel  the  connection  between  the 
"  community  of  Israel "  of  the  Song  of  Songs,  yearn- 
ing after  her  "  Beloved  "  in  Heaven  and  waiting  for 
Him  to  bring  her  redemption,  and  the  actual  people 
of  Israel,  yearning  after  its  beloved  land  and  striving 
to  redeem  that  land  by  its  own  strength. 

If  this  is  so,  whose  business  is  it  to  reform  this 
educational  system,  in  order  to  straighten  out  the 
crookedness  of  its  logic,  if  not  that  of  the  orthodox 
Zionists,  who  are  themselves  emancipated  from  this 
logical  inconsistency,  and  at  the  same  time  recognize 
and  acknowledge  that  it  is  rampant  in  their  own  camp  ? 


304  THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL 

I  say  "the  orthodox  Zionists"  advisedly:  for  we 
have  no  need  and  no  right  to  demand  of  any  section 
that  it  shall  entrust  the  education  of  its  children  to 
another  section  which  is  fundamentally  opposed  to  its 
views  on  human  life.  Just  as  the  "  modernists  "  can- 
not sacrifice  the  education  that  they  want  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  orthodox,  so  the  orthodox  cannot  give 
way  a  single  inch  in  a  matter  so  vital  to  the  existence 
of  the  ancient  stronghold  for  which  .they  would  give 
their  lives.  It  is  a  natural  desire,  and  therefore  a 
natural  and  inviolable  right,  of  every  man  to  educate 
his  children  so  that  they  will  grow  up  to  be  of  his  own 
way  of  thinking.  And  since  the  two  main  sections  of 
the  Jewish  people  are  united  under  the  banner  of  Zion- 
ism, they  must  both  recognize  the  points  of  union  and 
of  difference  between  them  in  every  department  of 
life,  and  especially  in  that  of  education.  They  must 
both  obey  the  demands  of  the  wider  idea  that  unites 
them.  Every  inevitable  outcome  of  that  idea  is  com- 
mon to  both,  and  imposes  on  both  an  equally  binding 
obligation.  But  outside  the  limits  thus  laid  down  they 
are  once  more  separate  sections,  and  each  has  the 
right  to  act  as  it  thinks  best,  with  absolute  freedom,  in 
all  its  affairs.  If  we  take  this  criterion,  we  shall  con- 
clude that  Zionism  must  demand  from  both  sections — 
and  both  must  obey  implicitly  and  without  reserve — 
that  each  shall  make  the  ideal  of  the  national  revival, 
in  the  modern  sense,  the  basis  of  education ;  but  on 
this  foundation  each  is  at  liberty  to  erect  its  own  super- 
structure in  its  own  way,  without  hindrance  or  inter- 
ference from  outside. 


THE  SPIRITUAL  REVIVAL  305 

This  solution  of  the  problem  is  so  natural  and  so 
simple,  that  one  cannot  help  being  surprised  at  the 
angry  struggle  which  goes  on  incessantly  within  the 
camp  on  the  question  of  education. 

With  this  I  think  that  I  have  fulfilled  the  promise 
made  at  the  beginning  of  this  paper:  to  clear  up  the 
"  problem  of  culture "  in  the  plain  meaning  of  the 
term,  without  introducing  startling  new  ideas  or  over- 
subtle  refinements.  It  may  be  that  many  of  my  readers 
hoped  for  more  practical  suggestions  as  to  the  organ- 
ization of  the  work  of  culture  in  its  two  aspects ;  for 
Zionists  nowadays  attach  so  much  importance  to 
questions  of  organization.  But  to  my  mind  that  is 
not  the  essential  thing.  The  idea  itself,  if  it  is  clearly 
understood  and  accepted  with  thorough  conviction, 
will  be  the  best  organizer;  it  will  always  produce  the 
necessary  m.achinery  in  a  form  suited  to  its  object. 
Wherever  you  find  men  worrying  too  much  about  their 
organization  and  continually  patching  it  up,  you  may 
be  sure  that  the  underlying  idea  is  not  sufficiently  un- 
derstood. 

Perhaps  these  words  of  mine  will  help  to  clear  up 
the  conceptions  involved  in  the  phrase  "  cultural  work," 
and  create  a  true  appreciation  of  the  nature  and  object 
of  that  work.    If  so,  the  practical  results  will  follow. 


MOSES 
(1904) 

The  influence  of  great  men  on  the  history  of  the 
human  race  is  a  subject  of  much  discussion  among 
philosophers.  Some  maintain  that  the  great  men  create 
history,  and  the  masses  are  nothing  more  than  the 
material  on  which  they  work.  Others  assert  that  the 
masses  are  the  moving  force,  and  the  great  men  of 
every  age  are  only  inevitable  products  of  that  age  and 
its  conditions.  Such  discussions  make  one  reflect  on 
the  tendency  of  philosophers  to  shut  their  eyes  to  what 
lies  in  front  of  them,  and  to  seek  by  roundabout  paths 
what  is  really  so  near.  Surely  it  is  obvious  that  the 
real  great  men  of  history,  the  men,  that  is,  who  have 
become  forces  in  the  life  of  humanity,  are  not  actual, 
concrete  persons  who  existed  in  a  certain  age.  There 
is  not  a  single  great  man  in  history  of  whom  the  popu- 
lar fancy  has  not  drawn  a  picture  entirely  different 
from  the  actual  man ;  and  it  is  this  imaginary  concep- 
tion, created  by  the  masses  to  suit  their  needs  and  their 
inclinations,  that  is  the  real  great  man,  exerting  an 
influence  which  abides  in  some  cases  for  thousands  of 
years — this,  and  not  the  concrete  original,  who  lived 
a  short  space  in  the  actual  world,  and  was  never  seen 
by  the  masses  in  his  true  likeness. 

And  so  it  is  when  learned  scholars  burrow  in  the 


MOSES  307 

dust  of  ancient  books  and  manuscripts,  in  order  to 
raise  the  great  men  of  history  from  the  grave  in  their 
true  shapes ;  believing  the  while  that  they  are  sacrifi- 
cing their  eyesight  for  the  sake  of  "  historical  truth." 
It  is  borne  in  on  me  that  these  scholars  have  a  ten- 
dency to  overestimate  the  value  of  their  discoveries, 
and  will  not  appreciate  the  simple  fact  that  not  every 
archeological  truth  is  also  an  historical  truth.  Histori- 
cal truth  is  that,  and  that  alone,  which  reveals  the 
forces  that  go  to  mould  the  social  life  of  mankind. 
Every  man  who  leaves  a  perceptible  mark  on  that  life, 
though  he  may  be  a  purely  imaginary  figure,  is  a  real 
historical  force ;  his  existence  is  an  historical  truth. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  every  man  who  has  left  no 
impress  on  the  general  course  of  life,  be  his  concrete 
existence  at  a  particular  time  never  so  indisputable, 
is  only  one  of  the  million :  and  the  truth  contained  in 
the  statement  that  such  an  one  existed  is  a  merely 
literal  truth,  which  makes  absolutely  no  difference,  and 
is  therefore,  in  the  historical  sense,  no  truth  at  all. 
Goethe's  Werther,  for  instance,  was  a  pure  fiction; 
but  his  influence  on  that  generation  was  so  immense  as 
to  cause  a  large  number  of  suicides :  and  therefore  he 
is,  in  the  historical  sense,  much  more  truly  a  real 
person  than  this  or  that  actual  German  of  the  same 
period,  who  lived  an  actual  concrete  life,  and  died,  and 
was  forgotten,  and  became  as  though  he  had  never 
been.  Hence  I  do  not  grow  enthusiastic  when  the 
drag-net  of  scholarship  hauls  up  some  new  "  truth  " 
about  a  great  man  of  the  past;  when  it  is  proved  by 


3o8  MOSES 

the  most  convincing  evidence  that  some  national  hero, 
who  lives  on  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  and  influences 
their  development,  never  existed,  or  was  something 
absolutely  unlike  the  popular  picture  of  him.  On  such 
occasions  I  tell  myself:  all  this  is  very  fine  and  very 
good,  and  certainly  this  "  truth  "  will  erase  or  alter  a 
paragraph  of  a  chapter  in  the  book  of  archeology; 
but  it  will  not  make  history  erase  the  name  of  its  hero, 
or  change  its  attitude  towards  him,  because  real  history 
has  no  concern  with  so-and-so  who  is  dead,  and  who 
was  never  seen  in  that  form  by  the  nation  at  large,  but 
only  by  antiquarians  ;  its  concern  is  only  with  the  living 
hero,  whose  image  is  graven  in  the  hearts  of  men,  who 
has  become  a  force  in  human  life.  And  what  cares 
history  whether  this  force  was  at  one  time  a  walking 
and  talking  biped,  or  whether  it  was  never  anything 
but  a  creature  of  the  imagination,  labelled  with  the 
name  of  some  concrete  man?  In  either  case  history  is 
certain  about  his  existence,  because  history  feels  his 
effects. 

And  so  when  I  read  the  Haggadah  on  the  eve  of 
Passover,  and  the  spirit  of  Moses  the  son  of  Amram, 
that  supremest  of  heroes,  who  stands  like  a  pillar  of 
light  on  the  threshold  of  our  history,  hovers  before 
me  and  lifts  me  out  of  this  nether  world,  I  am  quite 
oblivious  of  all  the  doubts  and  questions  propounded 
by  non-Jewish  critics.  I  care  not  whether  this  man 
Moses  really  existed ;  whether  his  life  and  his  activity 
really  corresponded  to  our  traditional  account  of  him ; 
whether  he  was  really  the  savior  of  Israel  and  gave 


MOSES  309 

his  people  the  Law  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  preserved 
among  us ;  and  so  forth.  I  have  one  short  and  simple 
answer  for  all  these  conundrums.  This  Moses,  I  say, 
this  man  of  old  time,  whose  existence  and  character 
you  are  trying  to  elucidate,  matters  to  nobody  but 
scholars  like  you.  We  have  another  Moses  of  our 
own,  whose  image  has  been  enshrined  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Jewish  people  for  generations,  and  whose  influ- 
ence on  our  national  life  has  never  ceased  from  ancient 
times  till  the  present  day.  The  existence  of  this  Moses, 
as  a  historical  fact,  depends  in  no  way  on  your  investi- 
gations. For  even  if  you  succeeded  in  demonstrating 
conclusively  that  the  man  Moses  never  existed,  or  that 
he  was  not  such  a  man  as  we  supposed,  you  would  not 
thereby  detract  one  jot  from  the  historical  reality  of 
the  ideal  Moses — the  Moses  who  has  been  our  leader 
not  only  for  forty  years  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai,  but 
for  thousands  of  years  in  all  the  wildernesses  in  which 
we  have  wandered  since  the  Exodus. 

And  it  is  not  only  the  existence  of  this  Moses  that 
is  clear  and  indisputable  to  me.  His  character  is 
equally  plain,  and  is  not  liable  to  be  altered  by  any 
archeological  discovery.  This  ideal — I  reason — has 
been  created  in  the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  people ;  and 
the  creator  creates  in  his  own  image.  These  ideal  fig- 
ures, into  which  a  nation  breathes  its  most  intense 
aspirations,  seem  to  be  fashioned  automatically,  without 
conscious  purpose ;  and  therefore,  though  they  cannot, 
of  course,  escape  a  certain  superfluous  and  inhar- 
monious embroidery,  and  though  we  cannot  insist  that 


3IO  MOSES 

every  detail  shall  be  organically  related  to  the  central 
idea,  yet  the  picture  as  a  whole,  if  we  look  at  its  broad 
outlines,  does  always  represent  that  idea  which  is  the 
cause  of  its  existence,  and  as  it  were  the  seed  from 
which  the  whole  tree  has  grown. 

I  take,  therefore,  a  comprehensive  view  of  the  whole 
range  of  tradition  about  Aloses,  and  ask  myself  first 
of  all :  What  essentially  is  Moses  ?  In  other  words, 
what  manner  of  thing  is  the  national  ideal  which  has 
its  embodiment  in  Moses  ?  There  are  heroes  and  heroes 
— heroes  of  war,  heroes  of  thought,  and  so  forth ;  and 
when  we  examine  an  ideal  picture  we  must  first  be 
clear  as  to  the  essential  nature  of  the  ideal  which  the 
artist  had  in  his  mind  and  attempted  to  portray. 

And  as  I  look  at  the  figure  of  Moses  I  go  on  to  ask: 
Was  he  a  military  hero? 

No !  The  w^hole  canvas  betrays  no  hint  of  physical 
force.  We  never  find  Moses  at  the  head  of  an  army, 
performing  feats  of  valor  against  the  enemy.  Only 
once  do  we  see  him  on  the  battlefield,  in  the  battle 
with  Amalek ;  and  there  he  simply  stands  and  watches 
the  course  of  the  fighting,  helping  the  army  of  Israel 
by  his  moral  strength,  but  taking  no  part  in  the  actual 
battle. 

Again:  Was  he  a  statesman? 

Again,  no!  When  he  had  to  confront  Pharaoh  and 
discuss  questions  of  politics  with  him,  he  was  helpless 
without  his  brother  Aaron,  his  mouthpiece. 

Was  he,  then,  a  lawgiver? 

Once  more,  no!     Every  lawgiver  makes  laws  for 


MOSES  3H 

his  own  age,  with  a  view  to  the  particular  needs  of 
that  time  and  that  place  in  which  he  and  his  people 
live.  But  Moses  made  laws  for  the  future,  for  a 
generation  that  did  not  yet  exist,  and  a  country  not 
yet  conquered;  and  tradition  has  made  no  secret  of 
the  fact  that  many  laws  attributed  to  Moses  only  came 
into  force  after  several  generations,  while  others  have 
never  been  put  into  practice  at  all. 

What,  then,  was  Moses? 

Tradition  answers  in  the  most  explicit  terms : 
"  There  arose  not  a  Prophet  since  in  Israel  like  unto 
Moses."  This,  then,  is  what  Moses  was :  a  Prophet. 
But  he  was  different  from  the  other  Prophets,  whose 
appearance  in  our  history,  as  a  specific  type,  dates 
only  from  the  period  of  the  monarchy.  He  was, 
as  later  generations  learned  to  call  him,  "  the  lord  of 
the  Prophets,"  that  is,  the  ideal  archetype  of  Hebrew 
prophecy  in  the  purest  and  most  exalted  sense  of  the 
word. 

Again  I  take  a  comprehensive  glance  at  what  read- 
ing and  reflection  have  taught  me  about  the  nature 
of  Hebrew  prophecy,  and  try  to  define  its  essential 
characteristics. 

The  Prophet  has  two  fundamental  qualities,  which 
distinguish  him  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  First,  he 
is  a  man  of  truth.  He  sees  life  as  it  is,  with  a  view 
unwarped  by  subjective  feelings ;  and  he  tells  you  what 
he  sees  just  as  he  sees  it,  unaffected  by  irrelevant  con- 
siderations. He  tells  the  truth  not  because  he  wishes 
to  tell  the  truth,  not  because  he  has  convinced  him- 


312  MOSES 

self,  after  inquiry,  that  such  is  his  duty,  but  because 
he  needs  must,  because  truth-telHng  is  a  special  char- 
acteristic of  his  genius — a  characteristic  of  which  he 
cannot  rid  himself,  even  if  he  would.  It  has  been 
well  said  by  Carlyle  that  every  man  can  attain  to  the 
elevation  of  the  Prophet  by  seeking  truth ;  but  whereas 
the  ordinary  man  is  able  to  reach  that  plane  by 
strength  of  will  and  enormous  effort,  the  Prophet  can 
stand  on  no  other  by  reason  of  his  very  nature. 

Secondly,  the  Prophet  is  an  extremist.  He  concen- 
trates his  whole  heart  and  mind  on  his  ideal,  in  which 
he  finds  the  goal  of  life,  and  to  which  he  is  deter- 
mined to  make  the  whole  world  do  service,  without 
the  smallest  exception.  There  is  in  his  soul  a  complete, 
ideal  world ;  and  on  that  pattern  he  labors  to  reform 
the  external  world  of  reality.  He  has  a  clear  con- 
viction that  so  things  must  be,  and  no  more  is  needed 
to  make  him  demand  that  so  they  shall  be.  He 
can  accept  no  excuse,  can  consent  to  no  compromise, 
can  never  cease  thundering  his  passionate  denuncia- 
tions, even  if  the  whole  universe  is  against  him. 

From  these  two  fundamental  characteristics  there 
results  a  third,  which  is  a  combination  of  the  other 
two:  namely,  the  supremacy  of  absolute  righteousness 
in  the  Prophet's  soul,  in  his  every  word  and  action. 
As  a  man  of  truth  he  cannot  help  being  also  a  man 
of  justice  or  righteousness ;  for  what  is  righteous- 
ness but  truth  in  action  ?  And  as  an  extremist  he  can- 
not subordinate  righteousness  (any  more  than  he  can 
subordinate  truth)   to  any  irrelevant  end ;  he  cannot 


MOSES  313 

desert  righteousness  from  motives  of  temporary  ex- 
pediency, even  at  the  bidding  of  love  or  pity.  Thus 
the  Prophet's  righteousness  is  absolute,  knowing  no 
restriction  either  on  the  side  of  social  necessities  or  on 
that  of  human  feelings. 

The  Prophet,  then,  is  in  this  position:  on  the  one 
hand,  he  cannot  altogether  reform  the  world  according 
to  his  desire  ;  on  the  other  hand,  he  cannot  cheat  himself 
and  shut  his  eyes  to  its  defects.  Hence  it  is  impossible 
for  him  ever  to  be  at  peace  with  the  actual  life  in 
which  his  days  are  spent.  There  is  thus  a  grain  of 
truth  in  the  popular  idea  of  the  Prophet  as  above  all 
a  man  who  predicts  the  future ;  for,  in  truth,  the  whole 
world  of  the  Prophet  consists  of  his  heart's  vision  of 
what  is  to  come,  of  "  the  latter  end  of  days."  This  is 
his  delight  and  his  comfort  whenever  the  cup  of  sor- 
rows is  full  to  the  brim,  and  he  has  no  strength  left 
to  pour  out  his  soul  in  bitter  outcry  against  the  evil 
that  he  sees  around  him. 

But  just  as  the  Prophet  will  not  bow  to  the  world, 
so  the  world  will  not  bow  to  him,  will  not  accept  his 
influence  immediately  and  directly.  This  influence 
must  first  pass  through  certain  channels  in  which  it 
becomes  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  life.  Then  only 
can  it  affect  mankind.  These  channels  are  human 
channels.  They  are  men  who  cannot  rise  to  the 
Prophet's  elevation,  and  have  no  sympathy  with  his 
extremism,  but  are  none  the  less  nearer  to  him  in 
spirit  than  the  mass  of  men,  and  are  capable  of  being 
influenced  by  him  up  to  a  certain  point.     These  men 


314  MOSES 

are  the  Priests  of  the  prophetic  ideal.  They  stand  be- 
tween the  Prophet  and  the  world,  and  transmit  his  in- 
fluence by  devious  ways,  adapting  their  methods  to 
the  needs  of  each  particular  time,  and  not  insisting 
that  the  message  shall  descend  on  the  workaday  world 
in  all  its  pristine  purity. 

Thus  I  picture  the  Prophet  in  his  purest  form.^ 
Such,  in  essentials,  were  all  the  true  Prophets  of 
Israel,  from  Hosea  and  Amos  to  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel ; 
but  the  type  is  most  perfectly  realized  in  the  ideal 
picture  of  "  the  lord  of  the  Prophets." 

When  Moses  first  leaves  the  schoolroom  and  goes 
out  into  the  world,  he  is  at  once  brought  face  to  face 
with  a  violation  of  justice,  and  unhesitatingly  he  takes 
the  side  of  the  injured.  Here  at  the  outset  is  revealed 
the  eternal  struggle  between  the  Prophet  and  the 
world. 

"  An  Egyptian  smiting  a  Hebrew,"  the  strong  tread- 
ing scornfully  on  the  weak — this  every-day  occurrence 
is  his  first  experience.  The  Prophet's  indignation  is 
aroused,  and  he  helps  the  weaker.  Then  "  two 
Hebrews  strove  together" — two  brothers,  both  weak, 
both  slaves  of  Pharaoh :  and  yet  they  fight  each  other. 
Once  more  the  Prophet's  sense  of  justice  compels  him, 
and  he  meddles  in  a  quarrel  which  is  not  his.  But  this 
time  he  discovers  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  fight  the 
battle  of  justice;  that  the  world  is  stronger  than  him- 
self, and  that  he  who  stands  against  the  world  does 
so  at  his  peril.     Yet  this  experience  does  not  make 

'  See  the  essay  "  Priest  and  Prophet  "  [p.  125], 


MOSES  3  IS 

him  prudent  or  cautious.  His  zeal  for  justice  drives 
him  from  his  country;  and  as  soon  as  he  reaches 
another  haunt  of  men,  while  he  is  still  sitting  by  the 
well  outside  the  city,  before  he  has  had  time  to  find 
a  friend  and  shelter,  he  hears  once  more  the  cry  of 
outraged  justice,  and  runs  immediately  to  its  aid.  This 
time  the  wranglers  are  not  Hebrews,  but  foreigners 
and  strangers.  But  what  of  that  ?  The  Prophet  makes 
no  distinction  between  man  and  man,  only  between 
right  and  wrong.  He  sees  strong  shepherds  trampling 
on  the  rights  of  weak  women — "  and  Moses  stood  up 
and  helped  them." 

This  is  the  sum  of  our  knowledge  about  Moses'  life 
till  the  time  when  he  stood  before  Pharaoh — and  he 
was  then  "  eighty  years  old."  Of  all  that  long  stretch 
of  years,  and  what  happened  in  them,  tradition  takes 
no  account,  because  they  were  only  the  preface,  only 
the  preparation  for  the  real  work  of  the  Prophet.  If 
an  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  these  three 
events,  which  happened  to  the  Prophet  at  the  outset 
of  his  life's  journey,  and  if  we  see  that  all  three  have 
the  same  characteristic,  that  of  the  Prophet  standing 
up  against  the  world  in  the  name  of  righteousness,  we 
may  believe  that  the  object  of  the  tradition  was  to 
throw  this  conflict  into  relief,  and  to  show  how  the 
Prophet  displayed  the  essential  qualities  of  his  kind 
from  the  very  first.  We  may  therefore  infer  that 
throughout  the  whole  of  that  period,  in  all  his  wander- 
ings, he  never  ceased  to  fight  the  battle  of  justice,  until 
the  day  came  when  he  was  to  be  the  savior  of  his 


3i6  MOSES 

people,  and  teach  the  world  justice,  not  for  his  own 
time  merely,  but  for  all  eternity. 

That  great  moment  dawned  in  the  wilderness,  far 
away  from  the  turmoil  of  the  world.  The  Prophet's 
soul  is  weary  of  his  ceaseless  battle,  and  he  would  fain 
rest  in  peace.  He  turns  his  back  on  men  for  the 
shepherd's  life,  and  takes  his  sheep  into  the  wilder- 
ness. There  "  he  came  to  the  mountain  of  God,  unto 
Horeb."  But  even  here  there  is  no  rest  for  him.  He 
feels  that  he  has  not  yet  fulfilled  his  mission ;  a  secret 
force  in  his  heart  urges  him  on,  saying,  "  What  doest 
thou  here  ?  Go  thou,  work  and  fight :  for  to  that  end 
wast  thou  created."  He  would  like  to  disregard  this 
voice,  but  cannot.  The  Prophet  hears  "  the  voice  of 
God  "  in  his  heart,  whether  he  will  or  not:  "  and  if  I 

say,  I  will  not  make  mention  of  him then 

there  is  in  mine  heart  as  it  were  a  burning  fire  shut  up 
in  my  bones,  and  I  am  weary  with  forbearing,  and  I 
cannot  contain." 

And  the  Prophet  remembers  that  in  his  youth,  at 
his  first  encounter  with  life,  the  same  fire  burnt  in  his 
heart  and  gave  him  no  rest.  From  that  day  to  this  he 
has  done  all  in  his  power  to  make  justice  supreme  in 
the  world  :  and  the  fire  is  still  burning.  The  best  of  his 
years,  the  flower  of  his  strength,  have  been  consumed 
in  the  battle ;  and  victory  is  not  his.  Now  old  age  has 
come  upon  him ;  yet  a  little,  and  he  will  be  sapless  as 
a  withered  and  barren  tree — even  like  this  bush  before 
him.  Can  he  still  find  new  means  of  reaching  his  goal  ? 
Can  his  old  age  succeed  where  his  youth  has  failed? 


MOSES  317 

What  is  there  to  do  that  he  has  not  done  ?  Why  should 
the  fire  still  burn  within  him,  still  disturb  his  soul's 
peace  ? 

Suddenly  he  hears  the  inner  "  voice  of  God  " — the 
voice  that  he  knows  so  well — calling  to  him  from  some 
forgotten  corner  of  his  heart : 

"  I  am  the  God  of  thy  father  ....  I  have  surely 
seen  the  affliction  of  my  people  which  are  in  Egypt 
....  Come  now,  therefore,  and  I  will  send  thee 
unto  Pharaoh,  that  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my  people, 
the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  Egypt." 

"The  God  of  his  father,"  "the  affliction  of  his 
people  " — how  can  he  have  forgotten  all  this  till  now  ? 
Faithfully  has  he  served  the  God  of  the  Universe, 
fighting  a  hero's  battle  for  universal  justice.  In 
Midian,  in  every  country  in  which  he  set  foot,  he  has 
striven  always  to  deliver  the  oppressed  from  the 
oppressor,  has  preached  always  truth  and  peace  and 
charity.  But  the  God  of  his  father  he  has  forgotten; 
his  people  he  has  not  remembered ;  the  affliction  where- 
with the  Egyptians  afflict  his  people — of  that  he  has 
taken  no  thought. 

Now  a  new  hope  springs  up  in  the  Prophet's  heart, 
and  grows  stronger  each  moment.  With  this  hope, 
he  feels,  his  strength  increases,  and  the  days  of  his 
youth  are  renewed.  Now  he  knows  the  right  way  to 
the  goal  which  he  has  striven  after  all  his  life. 
Hitherto  he  has  consumed  his  strength  among 
strangers,  who  looked  on  him  as  an  alien  even  after  he 
had  spent  years  among  them ;  who  took  no  account 


3i8  MOSES 

of  him,  and  paid  no  heed  to  his  teaching;  who  would 
not  beheve  him  even  if  he  called  on  the  name  of  their 
own  gods.  But  now,  now  he  will  go  to  his  own  breth- 
ren, his  own  people,  and  will  speak  to  them  in  the  name 
of  the  God  of  his  fathers  and  theirs.  They  will  know 
and  respect  him ;  they  will  listen  to  all  that  he  says, 
will  listen  and  obey :  and  the  sovereignty  of  right- 
eousness, hitherto  nothing  more  than  his  heart's  ideal, 
will  be  established  in  the  world  by  this  his  people, 
which  he  will  bring  forth  out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

Under  the  spell  of  this  noble  idea  the  Prophet  for- 
gets for  a  moment  all  the  obstacles  in  his  path,  and 
in  fancy  sees  himself  already  in  Egypt  among  his 
people.  To  Pharaoh,  indeed,  he  will  not  go  alone. 
He  knows  beforehand  that  such  a  man  as  he,  unskilled 
to  speak  smooth  words,  cannot  bend  the  hearts  of  kings 
to  his  desire.  But  he  will  approach  first  of  all  his  own 
people;  he  will  assemble  the  "elders  of  Israel,"  men 
who  are  known  in  the  royal  house;  to  them  first  he 
will  reveal  the  great  tidings,  that  God  has  visited  them. 
And  these  men,  the  flower  of  the  people,  will  under- 
stand him  and  "  hearken  to  his  voice."  They  will  go 
with  him  to  Pharaoh,  and  give  God's  message  to  the 
king  in  a  language  which  he  understands. 

But  how  if  even  they,  the  elders  of  Israel,  "  will  not 
hearken  to  his  voice,"  "  will  not  believe  "  in  his  mis- 
sion? 

In  that  case  he  knows  what  to  do.  Not  for  nothing 
was  he  brought  up  in  Pharaoh's  house  on  the  knees 
of  the  magicians.     "  Enchantments  "  are  an  abomina- 


MOSES  319 

tion  to  him ;  but  what  can  he  do  if  the  "  elders  of 
Israel  "  believe  only  in  such  things,  and  are  open  to 
no  other  appeal? 

Even  the  "  sons  of  God  "  have  been  known  to  fall 
from  Heaven  to  earth;  and  even  the  Prophet  has  his 
moments  of  relapse,  when  the  spirit  of  prophecy  deserts 
him,  and  his  mortal  elements  drag  him  down  into  the 
mire  of  the  world.  But  only  for  a  moment  can  the 
Prophet  cease  to  be  what  he  ought  to  be,  and  needs 
must  be — a  man  of  truth.  Scarcely  has  Moses  con- 
ceived this  idea  of  gaining  credence  by  means  of  magic 
enchantments,  when  the  Prophet  in  him  rises  up  in 
arms  against  this  unclean  thought.  Never !  Since  first 
he  began  to  hear  "  the  voice  of  God  "  his  tongue  has 
been  a  holy  instrument,  the  outer  vesture  of  that 
Divine  voice  within  him ;  but  "  a  man  of  words,"  a 
man  whose  words  are  only  means  to  the  attainment  of 
his  desires,  not  genuinely  connected  with  his  thought 
— such  a  man  he  has  never  been  "  heretofore,"  nor 
will  ever  be.  That  is  a  price  which  he  will  not  pay 
even  for  the  redemption  of  his  people.  If  there  is  no 
way  but  through  enchantments,  then  let  the  redemp- 
tion be  achieved  by  others,  and  let  him  alone  in  his 
spotless  truth,  alone  in  the  wilderness: 

"  Oh,  Lord,  send,  I  pray  thee,  by  the  hand  of  him 
whom  Thou  wilt  send." 

But  it  is  not  easy  for  the  Prophet  to  remain  in  the 
wilderness.  The  burning  fire  which  has  just  roused 
all  his  spiritual  forces  to  action  has  not  yet  been 
quelled ;  it  will  give  him  no  rest  till  he  find  some  way 
to  ca-rry  out  his  thought. 


320  MOSES 

So,  at  last,  the  Prophet  finds  the  necessary  "  chan- 
nel "  through  which  his  influence  shall  reach  the 
people.  He  has  a  brother  in  Egypt,  a  man  of  position, 
a  Levite,  who  knows  how  to  shape  his  words  to  the 
needs  of  the  time  and  the  place.  His  brother  will  need 
no  enchantments  to  gain  him  allegiance.  He,  the 
"  Priest "  of  the  future,  will  go  with  the  Prophet  to 
the  elders  and  to  the  king  himself.  Nay,  he  will  know 
how  to  find  a  way  into  the  hearts  of  all  of  them : 

"  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  him  ....  and  he 
shall  be  thy  spokesman  unto  the  people :  and  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  that  he  shall  be  to  thee  a  mouth,  and 
thou  shalt  be  to  him  as  God." 

So  the  immediate  goal  is  reached.  Pharaoh  and  all 
his  host  lie  at  the  bottom  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  Moses 
stands  at  the  head  of  a  free  people,  leading  them  to  the 
land  of  their  ancestors. 

"  Then  sang  Moses  .  .  .  ."  In  this  hour  of  happi- 
ness his  heart  overflows  with  emotion,  and  pours  itself 
out  in  song.  He  does  not  know  that  he  is  still  at  the 
beginning  of  his  journey ;  he  does  not  know  that  the 
real  task,  the  most  difficult  task,  has  still  to  be  com- 
menced. Pharaoh  is  gone,  but  his  work  remains ;  the 
master  has  ceased  to  be  master,  but  the  slaves  have  not 
ceased  to  be  slaves.  A  people  trained  for  generations 
in  the  house  of  bondage  cannot  cast  oflf  in  an  instant 
the  effects  of  that  training  and  become  truly  free,  even 
when  the  chains  have  been  struck  oflf. 

But  the  Prophet  believes  in  the  power  of  his  ideal. 
He  is  convinced  that  the  ideal  which  he  is  destined  to 


MOSES  321 

give  to  his  people  will  have  sufficient  force  to  expel 
the  taint  of  slavery,  and  to  imbue  this  slave-people 
with  a  new  spirit  of  strength  and  upward  striving, 
equal  to  all  the  demands  of  its  lofty  mission. 

Then  the  Prophet  gathers  his  people  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountain,  opens  the  innermost  heavens  before 
them,  and  shows  them  the  God  of  their  fathers  in  a 
new  form,  in  all  His  universal  grandeur. 

"  For  all  the  earth  is  Mine,"  so  speaks  the  voice  of 
the  God  of  Israel  "  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire." 
Hitherto  you  have  believed,  in  common  with  all  other 
nations,  that  every  people  and  every  country  has  its 
own  god,  all-powerful  within  his  boundaries,  and  that 
these  gods  wage  war  on  one  another  and  conquer  one 
another,  like  the  nations  that  serve  them.  But  it  is 
not  so.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  God  of  Israel  and 
a  different  God  of  Egypt ;  there  is  one  God,  who  was, 
is,  and  shall  be :  He  is  Lord  of  all  the  earth,  and  Ruler 
over  all  the  nations.  And  it  is  this  universal  God  who 
is  the  God  of  your  fathers.  The  whole  world  is  His 
handiwork,  and  all  men  are  created  in  His  image ;  but 
you,  the  children  of  His  chosen  Abraham,  He  has 
singled  out  to  be  His  peculiar  people,  to  be  "  a  kingdom 
of  priests  and  an  holy  nation,"  to  sanctify  His  name  in 
the  world  and  to  be  an  example  to  mankind  in  your 
individual  and  in  your  corporate  life,  which  are  to  be 
based  on  new  foundations,  on  the  spirit  of  Truth  and 
Righteousness. 

"  Justice,  justice  shalt  thou  follow."  "  Keep  thee 
far  from  a  false  matter."    You  shall  not  respect  the 


322  MOSES 

strong ;  "  and  a  stranger  shalt  thou  not  wrong 

Ye  shall  not  afflict  any  widow,  or  fatherless  child," 
But  neither  shall  you  wrest  justice  on  the  side  of  the 
w-eak :  "  Neither  shalt  thou  favor  a  poor  man  in  his 
cause."  The  guiding  rule  of  your  lives  shall  be  neither 
hatred  and  jealousy,  nor  yet  love  and  pity,  for  all  alike 
pervert  the  view  and  bias  the  judgment.  "  Justice, 
justice  " — that  alone  shall  be  your  rule. 

"  Did  ever  people  hear  the  voice  of  God  speaking 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire  "  such  lofty  and  majestic 
words?  And  the  nation  that  has  heard  this  message, 
though  it  may  have  been  sunk  for  centuries  in  the 
morass  of  slavery  and  degradation,  how  can  it  fail  to 
rise  out  of  the  depths,  and  feel  in  its  innermost  soul 
the  purifying  light  that  streams  in  upon  it  ? 

So  thinks  the  Prophet ;  and  the  people  confirm  his 
belief,  as  they  cry  ecstatically,  with  one  voice,  "  All 
that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  we  will  do." 

So  the  Prophet  leaves  the  camp  in  peace  of  mind, 
and  withdraws  into  solitude  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain, there  to  perfect  and  complete  the  law  of  right- 
eousness. But  before  he  has  been  many  days  out  of 
sight  the  Egyptian  bondman  rears  his  head,  and  in 
a  moment  overturns  the  dream-castle  which  the  Prophet 
has  built  on  the  foundation  of  his  faith  in  the  power  of 
the  ideal.  "  The  voice  of  God  "  is  drowned  by  "  the 
noise  of  the  people  as  they  shouted  " ;  and  the  Priest, 
whom  the  Prophet  trusted,  who  was  his  mouthpiece 
before  Pharaoh  and  the  people,  this  very  Priest  is 
carried  away  by  the  mob,  and  makes  them  "  gods  " 


MOSES  323 

after  their  own  heart,  and  builds  an  altar  ....  This, 
in  his  view,  is  what  the  hour  demands :  and  the  Priest 
is  above  all  a  man  of  the  hour. 

The  Prophet's  grief  knows  no  bounds.  All  his  work, 
all  his  visions  of  his  people's  glorious  mission,  all  the 
hope  which  comforted  him  in  his  arduous  path,  all  is 
vanished  into  nothing.  He  is  seized  by  impotent 
despair.  "  The  tablets  of  the  Covenant  "  fall  from  his 
hand  and  are  broken ;  his  faith  in  himself  and  his  work 
is  shaken.  Now  he  sees  how  hard  it  is  to  create  a 
"  peculiar  people "  out  of  such  warped  material,  and 
for  one  moment  he  thinks  of  abandoning  this  "  obsti- 
nate people,"  and  entrusting  his  tablets  to  the  remnant 
who  are  faithful  to  his  covenant.  They  will  observe 
his  law,  and  win  over  little  by  little  the  best  of  man- 
kind, till  they  become  "  a  great  nation  " ;  and  he  will 
return  to  his  shepherd's  life  in  the  wilderness. 

But  the  Prophet  is  not  a  Priest :  it  is  not  for  him  to 
bow  to  circumstances  without  a  struggle,  and  to  change 
his  way  of  thought  at  their  bidding.  The  first  im- 
pulse passes  away,  and  the  Prophet  returns  to  his 
mission,  and  resolves  to  go  forward,  come  what  may. 
Now  he  realizes  the  hard  task  that  lies  before  him. 
He  no  longer  believes  in  a  sudden  revolution  ;  he  knows 
that  signs  and  wonders  and  visions  of  God  can  arouse 
a  momentary  enthusiasm,  but  cannot  create  a  new 
heart,  cannot  uproot  and  implant  feelings  and  inclina- 
tions with  any  stability  or  permanence.  So  he  sum- 
mons all  his  patience  to  the  task  of  bearing  the  trouble- 
some burden  of  his  people  and  training  it  by  slow  steps 
till  it  is  fit  for  its  mission. 


324  MOSES 

Thus  the  first  period  passes  away.  The  Prophet 
teaches,  trains,  bears,  and  forgives,  borne  up  by  the 
hope  of  seeing  the  fruits  of  his  labor  at  no  distant  day, 
when  his  people's  mission  will  be  fulfilled  in  their 
own  land. 

And  then  comes  the  incident  of  the  spies.  Here  is 
a  nation  on  its  way  to  conquer  a  country  by  force, 
and  there  build  up  its  own  distinctive  national  life, 
which  is  to  be  an  example  to  the  world:  and  at  the 
first  unfavorable  report  despair  sets  in,  and  the  glorious 
future  is  forgotten.  Even  the  Prophet's  heart  fails 
him  at  this  evidence  of  utter,  fathomless  degradation. 

Moses  now  sees,  then,  that  his  last  hope  is  ground- 
less. Not  even  education  will  avail  to  make  this  de- 
graded mob  capable  of  a  lofty  mission.  Straightway 
the  Prophet  decrees  extinction  on  his  generation,  and 
resolves  to  remain  in  the  wilderness  forty  years,  till  all 
that  generation  be  consumed,  and  its  place  be  taken 
by  a  new  generation,  born  and  bred  in  freedom,  and 
trained  from  childhood  under  the  influence  of  the 
Law  which  it  is  to  observe  in  the  land  of  its  future. 

It  requires  unusual  courage  to  go  out  boldly  to  meet 
danger,  to  fall  single-handed  on  an  enemy  of  vastly 
superior  strength,  to  plunge  into  a  stormy  sea.  But 
far  greater  heroism  is  demanded  of  the  man  who  goes 
about  consciously  and  deliberately  to  tear  out  of  his 
heart  a  splendid  hope,  which  has  been  the  very  breath 
of  his  life ;  to  stop  half-way  when  all  his  feelings 
tumultuously  impel  him  on  towards  the  goal  which 
seemed  so  near.    With  such  heroism  has  this  Hebrew 


MOSES  325 

tradition  endowed  its  Superman,  the  prince  of  its 
Prophets.  In  vain  do  his  followers,  now  conscious 
of  their  error,  urge  him  to  take  up  the  work  again,  and 
lead  them  to  their  inheritance ;  in  vain  is  their  entreaty, 
"  Lo,  we  be  here,  and  will  go  up  " !  The  Prophet  has 
decreed,  and  will  not,  nay  cannot,  retract.  He  is  con- 
vinced that  "  this  evil  congregation  "  can  be  of  no  use 
for  his  purpose,  and  no  entreaty  will  induce  the  Prophet 
to  act  against  his  convictions.  He  mourns  with  them 
and  makes  their  grief  his  own;  but  for  their  suppli- 
cations he  has  one  stern  answer,  "  Go  not  up,  for  the 
Lord  is  not  among  you." 

So  the  Prophet  remains  in  the  wilderness,  buries 
his  own  generation  and  trains  up  a  new  one.  Year 
after  year  passes,  and  he  never  grows  weary  of  re- 
peating to  this  growing  generation  the  laws  of  right- 
eousness that  must  guide  its  life  in  the  land  of  its 
future;  never  tires  of  recalling  the  glorious  past  in 
which  these  laws  were  fashioned.  The  past  and  the 
future  are  the  Prophet's  whole  life,  each  completing 
the  other.  In  the  present  he  sees  nothing  but  a  wil- 
derness, a  life  far  removed  from  his  ideal ;  and  there- 
fore he  looks  before  and  after.  He  lives  in  the  future 
world  of  his  vision,  and  seeks  strength  in  the  past 
out  of  which  that  vision-world  is  quarried. 

Forty  years  are  gone,  and  the  new  generation  is 
about  to  emerge  from  its  vagabond  life  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  take  up  the  broken  thread  of  the  national 
task,  when  the  Prophet  dies,  and  another  man  assumes 
the  leadership,  and  brings  the  people  to  its  land. 


326  MOSES 

Why  does  the  Prophet  die?  Why  is  it  not  vouch- 
safed to  him  to  complete  his  work  himself  ?  Tradition, 
as  we  know,  gives  no  sufficient  reason.  But  tradition 
recognized,  with  unerring  instinct,  that  so  it  needs 
must  be.  When  the  time  comes  for  the  ideal  to  be  em- 
bodied in  practice,  the  Prophet  can  no  longer  stand  at 
the  head;  he  must  give  place  to  another.  The  reason 
is  that  from  that  moment  there  begins  a  new  period, 
a  period  in  which  prophecy  is  dumb,  a  period  of  those 
half-measures  and  compromises  which  are  essential  to 
the  battle  of  life.  In  this  period  reality  assumes  gradu- 
ally a  form  very  different  from  that  of  the  Prophet's 
vision ;  and  so  it  is  better  for  him  to  die  than  to  witness 
this  change.  "  He  shall  see  the  land  before  him,  but 
he  shall  not  go  thither."  He  has  brought  his  people 
to  the  border,  fitted  them  for  their  future,  and  given 
them  a  noble  ideal  to  be  their  lodestar  in  time  of 
trouble,  their  comfort  and  their  salvation;  the  rest  is 
for  other  men,  who  are  more  skilled  to  compromise 
with  life.  Let  them  do  what  they  will  do  and  achieve 
what  they  will  achieve,  be  it  much  or  little.  In  any 
case  they  will  not  achieve  all  that  the  Prophet  wished, 
and  their  way  will  not  be  his  way. 

As  for  him,  the  Prophet,  he  dies,  as  he  .has  lived, 
in  his  faith.  All  the  evil  that  he  has  seen  has  been 
powerless  to  quench  his  hope  for  the  future,  or  dim 
the  brightness  of  the  ideal  that  illumined  his  path  from 
afar.  He  dies  with  gladness  on  his  face,  and  with 
words  of  comfort  for  the  latter  days  on  his  lips :  dies, 
as  tradition  says,  "  in  a  kiss,"  embracing,  as  it  were, 


MOSES  327 

the  ideal  to  which  he  has  consecrated  his  Hfe,  and  for 
which  he  has  toiled  and  suffered  till  his  last  breath. 

When  Heine  wanted  to  describe  .the  greatness  of  the 
prince  of  Hebrew  poets,  Jehudah  Halevi,  he  said  that 
**  he  was  born  with  a  kiss."  But  that  idea  is  foreign 
to  the  Jewish  spirit.  When  the  national  tradition 
wishes  to  describe  the  greatness  of  .the  prince  of 
Prophets,  it  makes  him  die,  not  come  to  life,  with  a 
kiss.  That  death-kiss  is  the  crown  of  a  work  com- 
pleted and  a  duty  fulfilled  to  the  uttermost,  of  a  life 
whose  burden  has  been  borne  from  first  to  last  with  the 
steadfastness  of  a  sea-girt  rock,  which  flinches  not  nor 
bows,  but  bears  unmoved  the  onset  of  the  devouring 
waves. 

"  The  creator,"  I  have  said,  "  creates  in  his  own 
image."  And  in  truth,  our  people  has  but  expressed 
itself,  at  its  highest,  in  this  picture  of  Moses.  Well 
have  the  Cabbalists  said  that  "  Moses  is  reincarnated 
in  every  age."  Some  hint  of  Moses  has  illumined  the 
dark  life  of  our  people,  like  a  spark,  in  every  genera- 
tion. This  needs  no  lengthy  proof.  We  have  but  to 
open  our  Prayer  Book,  and  we  shall  see  almost  on 
every  page  how  constant  has  been  the  striving  after 
the  realization  of  the  prophetic  ideal  in  all  its  world- 
embracing  breadth,  constant  throughout  the  blackest 
periods  of  the  Jew's  history,  when  his  life  has  been 
most  precarious,  and  persecution  has  driven  him  from 
country  to  country.  Israel  has  never  lived  in  the  pres- 
ent. The  present,  with  its  evil  and  its  wickedness,  has 
always  filled  us  with  anguish,  indignation,  and  bitter- 


328  MOSES 

ness.  But  just  as  constantly  have  we  been  inspired 
with  brilliant  hopes  for  the  future,  and  an  ineradicable 
faith  in  the  coming  triumph  of  the  good  and  the  right ; 
and  for  these  hopes  and  that  faith  we  have  always 
sought  and  found  support  in  the  history  of  our  past, 
whereon  our  imagination  has  brooded,  weaving  all 
manner  of  fair  dreams,  so  as  to  make  the  past  a  kind 
of  mirror  of  the  future.  Our  very  Hebrew  language, 
the  garment  of  the  Jewish  spirit,  has  no  present  tense, 
but  only  a  past  and  a  future.  The  question  has  been 
much  debated,  whether  the  fundamental  characteristic 
of  the  Jewish  spirit  is  optimism  or  pessimism ;  and  ex- 
treme views  have  been  propounded  on  both  sides.  But 
all  such  discussion  is  futile.  The  Jew  is  both  optimist 
and  pessimist;  but  his  pessimism  has  reference  to  the 
present,  his  optimism  to  the  future.  This  was  true  of 
the  Prophets,  and  it  is  true  of  the  people  of  the 
Prophets. 

There  has,  indeed,  been  one  short  period  in  modern 
Jewish  history  when  Israel  grew  utterly  weary  of  toil 
and  trouble,  and  began  to  long  for  solace  in  the  present, 
taking  pleasure  in  the  fleeting  hour,  as  other  nations  do, 
and  demanding  no  more  of  life  than  what  it  can  give. 
And  when  once  this  longing  was  aroused,  and  became 
Israel's  ideal  (despite  its  fundamental  opposition  to  the 
prophetic  outlook),  the  prophetic  characteristic  at  once 
manifested  itself  here  also:  the  ideal  was  pursued  to 
extreme  lengths,  without  any  regard  to  the  obstacles 
that  lay  in  the  way  of  its  attainment.  The  Jews  of 
that  period  had  no  pity  on  the  vision  of  a  great  future. 


MOSES  329 

to  which  their  ancestors  clung  throughout  history. 
They  wiped  it  out  at  a  single  stroke,  as  soon  as  its 
abandonment  seemed  to  be  a  necessary  step  to  the 
attainment  of  the  ideal  of  to-day.  And  with  the  future 
the  past  necessarily  went,  seeing  that  it  had  no  meaning 
except  as  a  mirror  of  the  future.  But  we  all  know  the 
end  of  the  story.  The  ideal  of  to-day  was  not  attained  ; 
and  all  the  labor  of  that  period,  its  attempt  to  destroy 
one  world  and  build  another,  left  nothing  but  ruin  and 
the  bitterness  that  comes  of  wasted  effort. 

But  this  was  a  mere  passing  phase,  a  sort  of  faint- 
ing-fit, a  temporary  loss  of  consciousness.  The  pro- 
phetic spirit  cannot  be  crushed,  except  for  a  time.  It 
comes  to  life  again,  and  masters  the  Prophet  in  his 
own  despite.  So,  too,  the  prophetic  people  regained 
consciousness  in  its  own  despite,  and  we  see  once  again 
some  beginning  of  the  "  reincarnation  of  Moses."  The 
Spirit  which  called  Moses  thousands  of  years  ago  and 
sent  him  on  his  mission,  against  his  own  will,  now 
calls  again  the  generation  of  to-day,  saying, 

"  And  that  which  cometh  into  your  mind  shall  not 
be  at  all ;  in  that  ye  say,  we  will  be  as  the  nations  .  .  . 
as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  surely  with  a  mighty 
hand   ....   will  I  be  king  over  you." 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aaron,  the  typical  priest,  19;  the 
companion  of  Moses,  320, 
322-3. 

Actes  et  conferences  de  la  societe 
des  etudes  juives,  cited,  173 
(n.) 

"  After  Ten  Years,"  essay  by 
Ahad   Ha-'Am,    285    (n.). 

Agricultural  colonies,  cannot  pro- 
duce  a   spiritual    revival,   289. 

Ahad  Ha-'Am,  collected  essays  of, 
7;  content  of  essays  by,  11; 
on  study  of  Hebrew  language 
and  literature,  35-6;  projects 
a  Hebrew  Encyclopedia,  36;  on 
the  Jewish  mission,  38-9;  on 
political   Zionism,    39-40. 

'Al  Parashat  Derahim,  by  Ahad 
Ha-'Am,   7. 

Albo,  Joseph,  referred  to,  87  (and 
n.);  his  basis  for  Judaism, 
188. 

Alexander  the  Great,   19. 

Alliance,  the,  and  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  Jews  in  the  East, 
248. 

Amalek,  Moses  in  the  battle  with, 
310. 

America,   the   Jargon   in,   282. 

American  literature,  contrasted 
with  English,  277-8. 

Analysis  of  the  past,  207  et  seq. 

Anan,   founder  of   Karaism,   60. 

Anchorites,   how  produced,    166. 

Anticipations  of  ideas,  character- 
ized, 69;  value  of,  69-70;  il- 
lustrated, 70-9. 

Antiocbus,  threatens  Hebraism, 
19. 


Anti-Semitism,  alleged  not  to  exist 
in  France,  172;  Reinach  warns 
against,  172-4;  see  also  Jew- 
hatred. 

Antokolsky,  sculptor,  estranged 
from   the   Hebrew  spirit,   269- 

72- 

Aphasia,  283. 

Arabic  philosophy  cultivated  by 
the  Jews,   57. 

Archives  Israelites,  fiftieth  anni- 
versary  of,    174. 

Argentine  colonies,  the,  of  Baron 
Hirsch,    90    (n.),    124    (n.). 

Aristotle,  alluded  to,  43. 

Aryan  element,  the,  in  Nietzsche't 
system,  225-6.  233. 

Ascetic,  the  true,  139;  opposed  to 
the  general  law  of  life,  141-2; 
see  also  Asceticism. 

Asceticism,  the  Jewish  view  of, 
26-7;  defined,  139-41;  in  India 
and  Europe,  141;  opposed  to 
the  laws  of  history,  141-2;  ex- 
plained by  opposition  between 
flesh  and  spirit,  142-5;  not 
consonant  with  early  Juda- 
ism, 148;  tendency  toward,  in 
Judaism  of  Middle  Ages,  151; 
political,  among  the  Jews,  152; 
modern  Jewish,  157-8;  see  also 
Ascetic. 

Assimilation,  the  result  of  imita- 
tion, 114,  lis;  of  a  conquered 
nation,  114;  due  to  self-ef- 
facement, lis;  how  to  avoid, 
II 5-1 6;  and  reform  in  Juda- 
ism, 120  et  seq.;  not  a  danger 
to  Jews,   121-2;  effect  of,  on 


334 


INDEX 


Jewish     creativeness,     265     et 

seq.;    see    also    Emancipation ; 

Imitation,    Self-effacement. 
"  At   the    Parting   of    the    Ways," 

by  Ahad   Ha-" Am,   7. 
Auto-Emancipation,    by    Leo    Pins- 

ker,  cited,  102  (n.). 

Baba  Batra,  cited,   45   (n.). 

Baba  Kamma,  cited,  48  (n.). 

Babylonian   capitivity,  the,   24-5. 

Bacon,  Francis,  a  creator  of  ob- 
jective culture,  260. 

Basle  programme,  the,  first  para- 
graph of,  255;  see  also  Zion- 
ism. 

Bergson,  Henri,  alluded  to,  93. 

Bialik,  Ch.  N.,  modern  Hebrew 
poet,  271   (n.). 

Bible,  the,  German  translation  of, 
starts  a  negative  movement, 
64-s;  expresses  the  Law  in  the 
terms  of  early  Jewish  history, 
212;  a  product  of  Hebrew  ob- 
jective culture,  261-2;  not 
the  only  product  of  Hebrew 
objective  culture,  262-4;  see 
also  Law,  the ;  Scriptures,  the ; 
Torah,  the. 

Blood-accusation,  the,  recrudes- 
cent,  19s;  agitates  the  spirit 
of  the  Jewish  people,  195-6; 
a  means  of  escape  from  self- 
contempt,    203-4. 

Body,  the,  defined,  23;  to  be 
fought,  14s;  view  of,  in  later 
Judaism,  25;  see  also  Dualism; 
Flesh,  the. 

Borne,  claimed  as  a  national  Jewish 
writer,  277. 

Brandes,  claimed  as  a  national  Jew- 
ish writer,  277. 

Bruno,  Giordano,  alluded  to,  99. 
Buchler   Adolph,    and   Jewish    Sci- 
ence, 274  (n.). 
Buddhists,   the,   asceticism   among, 
141. 


Cabbalists,  the,  alluded  to,  43;  in- 
clined towards  asceticism,  151. 

Cato,  alluded  to,  116. 

Cause,  a,  demanded  by  civilized 
man,  143. 

Centre,  a  Jewish,  antidote  to  dis- 
sipation, 123;  see  also  Pales- 
tine, 

Christian  investigators,  and  Jewish 
documents,  274. 

Christianity  an  assertion  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit,  21. 

Community,  the,  and  the  individ- 
ual, in  Judaism,  147-9. 

Competition,  rooted  in  jealousy, 
iii;  stimulates  progress,  112, 
116,  118;  applied  to  commun- 
ities, 113. 

Compromise,  the  Prophets  opposed 
to,  17;  the  Hebrews  opposed 
to,  17-18,  263-4;  the  Priest  a 
man  of,  18-19;  in  mechanics, 
125-6;  in  the  human  soul,  126- 
9;   in  social  life,   129-30. 

Compulsion,  an  excuse  in  the  Law, 
48. 

Congress,  Report  of  the  Sixth, 
cited,    302. 

Conscience,  defined,  48-9. 

Conservatives,  action  of,  61-2,  63. 

Convention,  force  of,  196  et  seq. 

Conversions,  the  Jewish  objection 
to,  229. 

Copernicus,  alluded  to,  43,  44,  99, 
loi,  105. 

Creation,  a  principle  of  natural 
religion,    188. 

Creativeness  among  the  Jews,  265 
et  seq.;  unexhausted,  293-4; 
see  also   Originality. 

Cultural  work,  of  the  essence  of 
Zionism,  258;  problem  of, 
cleared  up,  305. 

Culture,  defined  as  objective  and 
subjective,  259  et  seq. 

Culture,  Jewish,  and  political 
Zionism,  253,  255-8;  and  Zion- 
ism,   253-4;    objective,   261    et 


INDEX 


335 


seq.;  loss  to,  through  assimila- 
tion, 26s  et  seq.;  revival  of, 
antecedent  to  spiritual  revival, 
289-91;  the  work  necessary  for 
the  revival  of,  293-4;  the  re- 
vival of,  requires  a  special  or- 
ganization, 296;  the  revival  of 
national,  the  aim  of  Zionism, 
299-300;  see  also  Hebrew 
Spirit,  the;  and  under  Na- 
tional, etc. 

Damascus     blood-accusation,     the, 

19S- 
Darwin,    Charles,    alluded    to,    44, 

183,    190,    194;    stigmatized   by 

Nietzsche,    237. 
David,  king,  alluded  to,  124. 
Death-kiss,  the,  in  Jewish  tradition, 

326-7. 
De  Coulanges,  cited,  163  (n.). 
Deism,  and  Judaism,  184,   187-8. 
Desire   for   life.      See    IVill-to-llve, 

the. 
Despair,  the  philosophy  of,   144. 
Diaspora,    the,   the    Hebrew    spirit 

in,   3S;    regeneration   in,   aided 

by  Palestine,  37;  see  also  Dis- 
persion,      the;      Dissipation; 

Galut,  the. 
Dictionnaire     des     sciences     philo- 

sophiques,  cited,    192  (n.). 
Dietary   laws,    the,   observance   of, 

deprecated,     244-5;     see     also 

Kashrut. 
Dispersion,    the,    of   Israel,    not   a 

condition  of  his  mission,   137; 

see  also  Diaspora,   the;  Dissi- 
pation; Galut,   the. 
Dissipation,    national,    antidote   to, 

123;    see    also    Diaspora,    the; 

Dispersion,  the;  Galut,  the. 
Dreyfus,  alluded  to,  171  (n.). 
Dualism,   the,    of   body    and   soul, 

23-4;  in  later  Judaism,  149-31; 

see    also    Body,     the;    Flesh, 

the;  Soul,  the. 

East,   the,   the  Jews   of,   criticised 
by    S.    Reinach,    243    et    seq.;    j 


the    emancipation    of,    245    et 
seq. 

Ecclesiastes,  quoted,  159. 
Education,  and  Zionism,  301  et  seq. 

Ego.     See  Self,  the. 

Ego,  the  national.  See  Self,  the 
national. 

Egypt,  the  Jews  of,  averse  from 
assimilation,    118. 

Egyptians,  the,  use  of  stone  vessels 
among,    41-2. 

Election  of  Israel,  the  dogma  of, 
228  et  seq. 

Emancipation,  the,  of  the  Jew,  fet- 
ters the  Hebrew  spirit,  30; 
effects  of,  31-2;  and  the  na- 
tional restoration,  34-5;  and 
the  spirit  of  the  age,  103-6; 
and  the  Jewish  mission,  138-9; 
cost  of,  182;  demands  religious 
changes,  183;  demands  denial 
of  Jewish  nationality,  191; 
Western  Jews  slaves  to,  192; 
and  the  blood-accusation,  195- 
6;  and  S.  Reinach,  245  et  seq.; 
effect  of,  on  Jewish  creative- 
ness,  265  et  seq.;  see  also  As- 
similation. 

Encyclopedia,  a  Hebrew,  projected 
by   Ahad   Ha-'Am,    36. 

End,  an,  demanded  by  the  moral 
individual,     143. 

England,  objective  culture  of,  260. 

English  literature,  contrasted  with 
American,  277-8. 

"  Enlightenment."     See   Haskalah. 

Essenes,  the,  ascetics,  20;  con- 
trasted with  the  Pharisees,  20; 
and  the  modern  mission  the- 
ory. 39;  on  the  dualism  of 
body  and  soul,  150-1;  hold 
ascetic  view  of  national  life, 
153-4.    157- 

"  Eternal  Ideals,"  article  in  Vos- 
chod,  cited,  171  (n.). 

European  Morals,  by  Lecky,  cited, 
166  (n.). 

Evil,  the,  distinguished  from  evil- 
doers, 47-8,  50;  in  the  life  of 


336 


INDEX 


primitive  man,  71;  Jewish  view 

of  impulse  to,  126-7. 
Evolution,  the  doctrine  of,  modifies 

the  attitude  towards  the  past, 

207  et  seq.;  in  the  Nietzschean 

system,   237. 
Exile,  the.     See  Galut,  the. 
Extremeness,    a    characteristic    of 

the  prophet,  312. 
"  Extremism,"    26-7. 
Extremist,   the  prophet  is  an,    16; 

definition  of,  25-6. 
Ezra,  alluded  to,  yy. 

Faith,  supplies  a  future  to  the  self, 
82;  to  the  nation,  83-4;  the  re- 
sult of  the  will-to-live,  163; 
shaken  by  science,   183. 

Family  gods,  72,  y^. 

Fasting,  not  asceticism,  140-1, 

February  Revolution,  the,  an  inci- 
dent of,   177-8. 

Fiske,  John,  quoted,  98-9. 

Flesh,  the,  life  of,  fleeting,  144-5; 
how  hatred  of,  grows,  145-6; 
annihilation  of,  as  viewed  by 
later  Judaism,  149-50;  union 
of,  with  spirit,  nationally,  152- 
9;  see  also  Body,  the ;  Dualism. 

"  Flesh  and  Spirit,"  by  Ahad  Ha- 
'Am,   7. 

"  Fragments,"  by  Ahad  Ha-'Am,  7. 

France,  the  Jews  of,  an  object  of 
imitation,  123;  anti-Semitism 
alleged  not  to  exist  in,  172; 
growth  of  anti-Semitism  in, 
172-4;  status  of  Jews  of,  174 
et  seq.;  the  first  fatherland  of 
the    Jew,    179,    181. 

Franck,  Adolphe,  on  Jewish  nation- 
ality,  179-81. 

Frankel,  Zechariah,  on  national 
Jewish  life,  276. 

Freedom,  slavery  in.  See  Slavery 
among  Western  Jews. 

French  Revolution,  the,   175,   176. 


Future,  the,  of  the  individual,  82; 
of  a  nation,  83,  84;  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  after  the  Baby- 
lonian exile,  85;  of  the  Jew- 
ish nation,  in  modern  times, 
88-90;  hope  of,  abandoned, 
328-9;  see  also  National  restor- 
ation, the. 

Galicia,  the  Jargon  in,  282. 
Galileo,  alluded  to,  99,  101,  105. 
Galut,   the,   22;    affects   Hebraism, 

2z,  32;  see  also  Diaspora,  the; 

Dispersion,  the ;  Dissipation. 
Geiger,   Abraham,   on   the   Hebrew 

language,    121,    279    (n.);    on 

purpose    of    Jewish     Science, 

276. 
Genealogie,    by    Nietzsche,    cited, 

235  (n.). 
Germany,   the  Jews  of,  objects  of 

imitation,    122. 
Ghetto,    the,    28,    29,    30-1;    saves 

Hebraism,  31;  organization  of, 

156. 
Goethe,    influences    his    generation 

through  his  Werther,  307. 
Good,  the,  in  the  life  of  primitive 

man,   71;   Jewish  view  of  the 

impulse  to,   126,   127. 
"  Good    Advice,"    essay    by    Ahad 

Ha-'Am,  cited,  224  (n.). 
Great  men,  in  history,  306-8. 
Greek    culture,    and    the    Romans, 

116;  in  Palestine,    1 18-19;  ob- 
jective, 259. 
Greeks,  the  national  duty  of,   187. 
Gutenberg,  alluded  to,  42. 

Haggadah,    the    Passover,    alluded 

to,  308. 
Halevi,  Jehudah,  on  the  election  of 

Israel,    232;    alluded   to,    241; 

described   by   Heine,   327. 
"  Ha-Matmid,"    poem    by    Bialik, 

271  (n.). 
Ha-Meliz,  cited,   171  (n.). 


INDEX 


337 


Harmony,  the  heavenly,  126;  the 
moral,  of  the  Greeks,  128;  the 
social,  129-30;  in  the  view  of 
the  Prophet,  131;  in  the  view 
of  the  Priest,  132. 

Ha-Shiloah,  cited,  211  (n.);  al- 
luded to,  239. 

Hasidism,  spread  of,  analyzed,  57- 
8;  opposed  to  asceticism,  151; 
the  literature  of,  original,  287. 

Haskalah,  the,  defined,  64  (n.) ; 
destructive  of  Jewish  national 
literature,  285,  287. 

Heavenly  harmony,  the,  126. 

Hebraism,  threatened  by  Anti- 
ochus,  19;  and  the  Sadducees, 
20;  narrowed  down  to  Juda- 
ism, 22-3;  affected  by  the 
Galut,  23;  repudiates  the  dual- 
ism of  body  and  soul,  24;  not 
concerned  with  personal  im- 
mortality, 24;  "  other-world- 
liness  "  introduced  into,  24-5; 
in  modern  life,  30;  saved  by 
the  Ghetto,  31;  Judaism  sub- 
stituted for,  32-3;  in  thought 
and  practice,  35;  Palestine  a 
spiritual  centre  of,  37;  proph- 
ecy a  phenomenon  of,  132;  see 
also  Hebrew  spirit,  the;  Re- 
vival of  the  Hebrew  spirit,  the. 

Hebrew  culture,  objective,  261;  see 
also  Culture,  Jewish. 

Hebrew  language,  the,  as  an  ele- 
ment in  the  revival  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit,  35-6;  Geiger  on, 
121,  279  (n.);  the  vehicle  of 
the  Jewish  national  literature, 
278-9;  versus  Jargon,  280-5; 
the  tenses  of,  328;  see  also 
Jewish  literature,   the. 

Hebrew  literature,  the.  See  He- 
brew language,  the;  Jewish 
literature,  the. 

Hebrew  spirit,  the,  defined,  12; 
religious  and  moral,  14; 
prophets  the  product  of,  14- 
15;   priests  the   intermediaries 

23 


for,  18-19;  triumphs  through 
Christianity,  21;  on  the  de- 
fensive, 22;  in  Judaism,  23; 
demands  the  Messiah,  28;  in 
modern  times,  28-9,  30;  ex- 
pressed in  the  Ghetto,  30;  co- 
extensive with  life,  33;  culti- 
vated in  the  Diaspora,  35;  ex- 
pressed in  an  encyclopedia, 
36;  creative,  264;  see  also 
Culture,  Jewish;  Hebraism; 
Revival  of  the  Hebrew  spirit, 
the;  and  under  National,  etc.; 
Spirit;  Spiritual. 

Hebrews,  the,  absolute  righteous- 
ness the  ideal  of,  18;  separate- 
ness  of,  essential,  20-1;  na- 
tional resto,ration  of,  21-2; 
changed  into  Jews,  22;  see 
also  Hebraism;  Hebrew  spirit, 
the;  Israel;  Jews,  the;  Mission 
of  Israel,  the;  Revival  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit,  the. 

Heder,  the,  faults  of  the  training 
in,  202;  Jewish  in  spirit,  301-3. 

Heine,  claimed  as  a  national  Jew- 
ish writer,  277;  on  Jehudah 
Halevi,  327. 

Hellenism,    19. 

Hellenists,  the,  in  Palestine,  118. 

Hermits,  how  produced,  166;  see 
also   Asceticism. 

Herod,  the  typical  tyrant,  270. 

Hibbat  Zion,  Zionism,  254. 

Hillel,  quoted,  150. 

Hirsch,  Baron,  attempts  to  create 
a  Jewish  centre,  90  (n.), 
124  (n.). 

History,  the  influence  of  great 
men  on,  306-8. 

Hoveve  Zion,  the,  arguments  used 
against,  171-2. 

Humanity,  the  loser  through  Jew- 
ish assimilation,  266  et  seq. 

Hume,  cited,  70;  a  creator  of 
objective    culture,    260. 


338 


INDEX 


Hypnotism,  described,  91;  exer- 
cised by  society,  91-3,  102; 
and  spiritualism,  95. 

Idea,  a  new,  as  a  primal  force,  129- 
30;  how  urged  by  the  Prophet, 
1 30- 1,  135-6;  how  urged  by  the 
Priest,   131-2,   135-6. 

Imagination,  place  of,  in  early 
human  development,  161-3;  in 
a  complex  society,  164-5. 

Imitation,  a  moral  shortcoming, 
107;  as  the  foundation  of 
society,  107-8;  limitation  of,  as 
such,  108-9;  centre  of,  109- 
11;  of  the  living,  11 1-12;  inter- 
national, 112;  leads  to  assimi- 
lation; 113-14,  115;  examples 
of  proper  competitive,  116  et 
seq.;  among  Jews,  117  et  seq.; 
see  also  Assimilation;  Self- 
effacement. 

Immortality,  national,  in  the  view 
of  Hebraism,  24;  personal,  ac- 
cepted among  Jews,  25;  per- 
sonal, in  Judaism,  146,  149; 
affirmed  and  denied,  166;  see 
also    Other-worldliness. 

India,   asceticism   in,    141. 

Individual,  the,  in  Judaism,  27; 
and  the  community,  in  Juda- 
ism,  147-9. 

Individuality,  the  fostering  of,  an 
end,  222. 

Inner  consciousness,  the,  its  make- 
up. 93-4.  97- 

Intellectual  slavery.  See  under 
Slavery. 

"Internal  Emancipation  of  the 
Jews,  The,"  by  S.  Reinach, 
243  et  seq. 

Israel,  prophetical  demands  on, 
17-18;  perennial  steadfastness 
of,  328-9;  see  also  Hebrews, 
the;  Jews,  the;  Mission  of 
Israel,    the. 

Ivan  the  Terrible,  the  typical  ty- 
rant, 270. 


Jabneh,  Johanan  ben  Zakkai  in, 
156  (n.). 

Jargon,  versus  Hebrew,  280-5. 

Jealousy,  the  root  of  competition, 
III. 

Jenseits  von  Gut  und  Bose,  by 
Nietzsche,  cited,  229  (n.), 
230  (n.). 

Jew,  term  with  religious  connota- 
tion, 12;  the  Ghetto,  28,  30-1, 
34-5.  38;  the  assimilated,  28- 
9;  the  modern  history  of  the, 
29-30;  see  also  Jews,  the. 

Jew-hatred,  a  bequest  of  the  past, 
102-3;  mistaken  view  of,  102- 
5;  proper  measures  against, 
103;  its  extinction,  105-6;  see 
also   Anti-Semitism. 

Jewish,  a  term  with  religious  con- 
notation,   12. 

Jewish  Chronicle,  the,  cited, 
272  (n.). 

Jewish  Colonization  Association, 
the,  and  the  agriculturists  of 
Palestine,  242;  and  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  Jews  in  the 
East,   248. 

Jewish  life,  stimulates  creativeness, 
269  et  seq. 

Jewish  literature,  national,  de- 
scribed, 277  et  seq.;  destroyed 
by  the  Haskalah,  285,  287;  see 
also  Hebrew  language,  the. 

Jewish  mission,  the.  See  Mission 
of  Israel,  the. 

Jewish  national  life.  See  under 
National;  Nationality;  Na- 
tionalism. 

Jewish  problem,  the,  the  solution 
of,  30,  40. 

Jewish  Science,  a  negative  move- 
ment, 65-6;  defined,  65  (n.); 
not  original,  273-5;  riot  na- 
tionalist, 275-6. 

Jewish  thought,  philosophy  intro- 
duced into,   57. 

Jews,  the,  how  developed  from 
Hebrews,  22;  affected  by  com- 


INDEX 


339 


petitive  imitation,  iiS  et  seq.; 
not  in  danger  of  assimilation, 
12 1-2;  danger  to,  122;  of  West- 
ern Europe,  not  spiritually 
free,  177,  178-9;  ancient  and 
modern,  in  relation  to  the  out- 
side world,  198  et  seq.;  as 
promoters  of  alien  culture, 
272-3;  anomalous  cultural  po- 
sition of,  292-3;  the  cultural 
position  of,  296  et  seq.;  see 
also  Hebrews,  the;  Hebrew 
spirit,  the,  etc. ;  Israel;  Jews, 
the;  Mission  of  Israel,  the. 

Job,   legend  about,   45  (n.). 

Johanan  ben  Zakkai,   156  (n.). 

Judaism,  a  narrow  Hebraism,  22- 
3;  and  the  doctrine  of  personal 
immortality,  25;  asceticism  in, 
26-7;  relation  of  the  individual 
to  the  nation  in,  27;  demands 
the  superman,  27-8;  a  substi- 
tute for  Hebraism,  32-3;  re- 
form of,  proper  procedure  for, 
1 01-2;  reform  of,  tends  to- 
wards assimilation,  120  et  seq.; 
attitude  of,  towards  body  and 
soul,  146-8;  "eternal  life"  in 
primitive,  146-7;  attempts  to 
solve  the  problem  of  communal 
life,  147-9;  early,  rules  out  as- 
ceticism, 148;  in  Middle  Ages, 
inclines  to  asceticism,  151;  as 
a  religion,  championed  by 
French  writers,  179;  the  unity 
of,  lost,  183;  held  theoretically 
by  emancipated  Jews,  183;  mis- 
sion idea  introduced  in,  184 
et  seq.;  principles  of,  enunci- 
ated by  Albo,  188;  to  be  re- 
fashioned by  the  theory  of  the 
transvaluation  of  values,  218- 
223-4,  232;  strengthened  by  the 
Nietzschean  system,  224;  the 
superman  of,  226-7;  the  moral 
superiority  of,  228-9;  the  place 
of  the  mission  of  Israel  in, 
330-1;  the  later,  and  its  insis- 


tence on  practice,  263-4;  the 
spirit  of,  in  the  emancipated 
Jew,  265;  the  reform  of,  and 
Jewish  Science,  276. 

Judges,  the  Book  of,  on  the  fickle- 
ness of  the  Jew,  73. 

Judische  Wissenschaft.  See  Jew- 
ish Science. 

Justice,  the  prophetic  ideal,  16,  26; 
defined,  46;  the  world  to  be 
created  with,  47,  48;  in  con- 
nection with  mercy,  48;  devel- 
oped feeling  of,  49-50;  value 
of,  52;  the  fundamental  idea 
of  Hebrew  prophecy,  133; 
zeal  for,  in  Moses,  314-17;  see 
also  Righteousness. 

Karaites,  the,  denounced  by  the 
people,  44;  illustrate  a  nega- 
tive movement,  59-60. 

Kashrut,  observed  even  by  nation- 
alists, 249;  see  also  Dietary 
laws,  the, 

Kepler,  alluded  to,  43. 

Kiddushin,  cited,   150  (n.). 

Kieff,   alluded   to,   270. 

Kiss.     See  Death-kiss,  the, 

Kuzari,  by  Jehudah  Halevi,  cited, 
232  (n.). 

La  cite  antique,  by  De  Coulanges, 
cited,  163  (n.). 

La  Gerbe,  a  French  book,  de- 
scribed, 174  et  seq. 

Lamentations,  Book  of,  article  on, 
cited,   180. 

Language,  depends  on  imitation, 
108;  partial  loss  of,  283. 

Law,  the,  made  a  living  tradition 
by  the  Pharisees,  20;  made  a 
code,  22;  written  on  parch- 
ment, 42;  quoted,  46,  47,  48 
study  of,  supreme,  77;  need 
of  Oral,  denied,  60;  its  func 
tion  in  rejuvenating  Israel,  86 
7;  in  three  different  garbs 
212;  see  also  Bible,  the;  Scrip' 


340 


INDEX 


tures,      the;      Talmud,      the; 

Torah,  the. 
"  Law  in  the  Soul,  The,"  essay  by 

Ahad  Ha-' Am,  cited,  235  (n.). 
Laws,  disregard  of,  67-8. 
Lecky,  cited,  166  (n.). 
Legend,  a,  about  Job,  45  (n.)  ;  on 

justice     and     mercy,     47, 

on  the  relation  of  Greek  phil 

osophy     to     Hebrew     culture 

119. 
L'emancipation  interieure  du  Juda 

isme,    by    S.    Reinach,    cited; 

244  (n.). 
"  Letter  to  the  Jews  of   Yemen,' 

by  Maimonides,  alluded  to,  87 
Levanda,    Russian    Jewish    writer 

279. 
Literature,     national    Jewish,     de 

scribed,  277  et  seq. ;  see  also 

under  Hebrew. 
Locke,  John,  a  creator  of  objective 

culture,  260. 
Logic,   demands   a  cause,    143;   di- 
rected against  tradition,  205-7. 
Lolli,  A.,  article  by,  211  et  seq. 
London,  alluded  to,  255. 
Lubbock,  quoted,  41  (n.). 
L'univers  israelite,  cited,  244  (n.). 
Luzzatto,    Samuel    David,    quoted, 

213-14. 

Maccabeans,  the,    19. 

Magic,  used  by  Moses,  318-19. 

Maimon,  Solomon,  philosopher, 
292. 

Maimonides,  Moses,  why  revered 
by  the  people,  44;  on  the  Mes- 
siah, 87  (and  n.);  opposed  to 
asceticism,  151;  alluded  to, 
202. 

Man,  as  viewed  by  Judaism,  148. 

Materialist  view,  the,  of  life,  146; 
of  national  life,  152. 

Mattathias  the  Hasmonean,  and 
the  Sabbath,  247,  250. 

Mendelssohn,  Moses,  alluded  to, 
31.   64. 


Mercy,  defined,  46;  the  world  cre- 
ated with,  47,  48;  in  connec- 
tion with  justice,  48;  false 
development  of  feeling  of, 
50-2;  true  place  of,  52. 

Messiah,  the,  and  the  national 
restoration,  22;  the  supreme 
prophet,  28;  hope  of,  supreme, 
78;  Maimonides  on,  87;  early 
advent  of,  137;  and  political 
Zionism,   254. 

Midrash  Lek  Leka,  quoted,  71  (n.). 

Midrashim,  the,  discredited  as  his- 
torical evidence,  274. 

Mill,  John  Stuart,  alluded  to,  82, 

Minsk,   alluded   to,   253  (n.). 

Mishnah,  the,  Luzzatto  character- 
izes, 213-14. 

Mishneh  Torah,  by  Maimonides, 
214  (n.).  See  Yad  ha-Hasa- 
kah. 

Mission  of  Israel,  the,  Ahad  Ha- 
'Am's  objections  to,  38-9;  as 
viewed  in  Western  Europe, 
137;  as  viewed  by  the 
Prophets,  137-8;  Adolphe 
Franck  on,  180-1;  character- 
ized, 184  et  seq.;  an  attempt 
to  adapt  Judaism  to  modern 
conditions,  230-1 ;  see  also  Re- 
formers, the. 

Mitnaggedim,  opponents  of  Hasid- 
ism,  58. 

Monatsschrift,  the,  cited,  276 
(and  n.). 

Moral  harmony,  the,  of  the  Greeks, 
128. 

Moral  slavery.     See  under  Slavery. 

Morality,  criterion  of,  51-2;  de- 
mands an  end,  143;  as  modi- 
fied by  the  Nietzschean  system, 
219,  222-3;  a  genius  for,  dis- 
played by  the  Jews,  228-g; 
the  author's  plea  for,  in  the 
Jews,  235  et  seq.;  progress  of, 
explained  by  Nietzsche,  237; 
laws  of,  an  outcome  of  na- 
tional character,  237-8;  revival 


INDEX 


341 


of,  must  precede  national  re- 
vival, 240-1;  insisted  on  by 
the  Prophets,   263-4. 

Mortara,  his  spiritual  being-,  94. 

Moses,  essay  by  Ahad  Ha-' Am  on, 
sets  forth  the  fundamental 
qualities  of  the  Prophets,  16; 
the  influence  of,  not  dependent 
on  his  actual  existence,  308-9; 
character  of,  created  in  the 
Jewish  spirit,  309-10;  questions 
as  to  the  essential  nature  of, 
310-11;  the  prophet,  311,  314; 
his  sense  of  justice  illustrated, 
314-17;  becomes  interested  in 
his  own  people,  317-18;  re- 
sorts to  enchantments,  318-19; 
enlists  the  aid  of  his  brother, 
320,  322;  as  the  educator  of  a 
slave-people,  320  et  seq.;  in- 
culcates the  true  God-idiea, 
321;  ethical  lessons  of,  321- 
2;  disappointed  by  the  people, 
322-3,  324;  persistence  and  pa- 
tience of,  323;  spiritual  hero- 
ism of,  324-5;  educates  a  sec- 
ond generation,  325;  dies  when 
ideal  is  executed  in  practice, 
326;  dies  in  his  faith,  326-7; 
created  in  the  image  of  the 
Jewish  people,  327-9;  rein- 
carnation of,  329. 

Munk,  cited,  185  (n.);  quoted,  186, 
192;  alluded  to,  190. 

Nachgelassene  Schriften,  by  Gei- 
ger,  cited,  279  (n.). 

National  culture,  the  aim  of  Zion- 
ism, 299-300;  see  also  Culture, 
Jewish. 

National  gods,  yz,  73,  74. 

National  hope.  See  National  res- 
toration,   the. 

National  Jewish  literature.  See 
Jewish  literature,  national. 

National  language,  the,  of  the  Jews, 
279-85;  see  also  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, the;  Jargon. 


National  life,  Jewish,  materialistic 
view  of,  152. 

National  restoration,  the,  21-2; 
and  the  modern  Jew,  34-5;  as 
a  survival,  75-9;  in  modern 
times,  88-90;  see  also  National 
revival,  the;  Palestine;  Re- 
vival of  the  Hebrew  spirit, 
the;  Zionism. 

National  revival,  the,  not  opposed 
by  the  Jewish  moral  spirit,  240- 
i;  and  Zionism,  294;  see  also 
National  restoration,  the;  Re- 
vival of  the  Hebrew  spirit, 
the;  Zionism. 

National  self,  the.  See  Self,  the 
national. 

Nationalism,  Jewish,  a  safeguard 
against  assimilation,  120;  the, 
of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  134- 
S;  Jewish,  and  tradition,  210- 
11;   of  different  kinds,   295. 

Nationality,  Jewish,  two  views  of, 
167-70;  deprecated  by  French 
writers,  179  et  seq.;  cause  of 
Jewish  unity,  183;  and  Zion- 
ism, 253-4;  and  emancipation, 
265;  and  Jewish  Science,  275- 
6;   the  language  of,  278-85. 

Natural  religion,  supposed  to  suf- 
fice for  Jews,  187-8;  anti- 
quated, 188. 

Natural  Religion,  by  Simon,  al- 
luded to,   187-8. 

Nature  gods,  72-3. 

Nazarites,  place  of,  in  Judaism, 
148. 

Nefesh,  meaning  of,  146. 

Negative,  the,  in  the  positive,  55; 
development  of,  58,  59,  61,  62; 
illustrated  in  Karaism,  59-60; 
illustrated  in  the  Mendelssohn- 
ian  movement,  64-5 ;  illus- 
trated in  Jewish  Science,  65-6. 

Nehemiah,  alluded  to,  77. 

Nestor,  the  typical  recluse,  270. 

New,  the,  amalgamating  with  the 
old,  95-6,  98,  99-101. 


342 


INDEX 


New  Testament,  the,  the  Pharisees 
in,  20. 

Newton,  Isaac,  alluded  to,  43. 

Nietzsche,  Friedrich,  system  of, 
analyzed,  219  et  seq.;  and 
evolution,  237;  reverence  in- 
culcated by,  238-9;  on  the 
Hebrew   Scriptures,  239. 

Nirvana,  88. 

Old,    the,    amalgamating    with    the 

new,  95-6,  98,  99-101. 
One-sidedness  of  elements,   makes 

complex  unity,   128-9. 
Optimist,  the  Jew  as,  328. 
Orah  Hayyim,  cited,  213  (n.). 
Order,  love  of,  not  a  Jewish  trait, 

202. 
Originality,   loss   of,   by   the   Jews, 

285-7;   see  also  Creativeness. 
Orshansky,   alluded   to,    178. 
Orthodox  Jews,  their  conventional 

ideas,    198. 
Other-worldliness,    usually    defined 

as    spiritual,     13;     introduced 

into   Hebraism,   24-5;   see  also 

Immortality. 

Palestine,  indispensable  for  the 
revival  of  the  Hebrew  spirit, 
33-4,  40;  as  a  spiritual  centre 
of  Hebraism,  37-8;  colony  in, 
alluded  to,  253;  the  place  of, 
in  political  Zionism,  255;  the 
revival  of  national  culture  in, 
290,  294;  see  also  Centre;  Na- 
tional restoration,  the;  Na- 
tional revival,  the;  Revival  of 
the  Hebrew  spirit,  the; 
Zionism. 

Palestine,  by  Munk,  cited,  185  (n.). 

Parchment,  used  for  the  Law,  42. 

Past,  the,  in  the  life  of  the  indi- 
vidual, 81;  of  a  nation,  83;  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  as  an  asset, 
88-90;  respect  for,  a  force, 
206-7;    historical   criticism    re- 


leases from  subservience  to, 
209;  see  also  Tradition. 

Paulhan,    quoted,    127. 

Peace,  defined,  53-4. 

Perpetual  student,  the,  270-1 
(and  n.) 

Pessimist,  the  Jew  as,  328. 

Pharaoh,  Moses  before,  315,  318; 
discomfited,  320. 

Pharisee,  meaning  of  word,  :53- 
4  (n.). 

Pharisees,  the,  heirs  of  the  pro- 
phetic spirit,  20;  insist  on  na- 
tional separateness,  20-1;  hope 
for  national  restoration,  21-2; 
Ahad  Ha-' Am  in  agreement 
with,  40;  political  views  of, 
154-6;  see  also  Rabbis,  the. 

Philo,  alluded  to,  43,  151. 

Philosophical  theory,  the,  of  life, 
165-6;  of  Jewish  national  life, 
168-9. 

Philosophy,  on  the  dualism  of  body 
and  soul,  23;  introduced  into 
Jewish  thought,   57. 

Physical  danger,  from  the  blood- 
accusation,    196. 

Physical  force,  not  valued  in  Juda- 
ism, 218. 

Pinsker,  Leo,  cited,  102  (n.). 

Pirke  Abot,  quoted,  50  (n.),  51 
(n.),    84  (n.). 

Plato,  alluded  to,  43,   118,  119. 

Political  materialism,  the  Prophets 
opposed  to,  152-3;  the  Phari- 
sees opposed  to,  155. 

Polytheism,  rise  of,  71-2;  universal, 
72-3;  among  the  Jews,  74. 

Positive,  the,  defined,  54-5;  nega- 
tive in,  55;  defense  of,  58-9, 
60-1. 

Practice,  the  centre  of  later  Juda- 
ism, 263-4. 

Prayer,  the  substitute  for  sacrifices, 
77- 

Prayer  Book,  the  Jewish,  and  the 
prophetic  ideal,  327. 


INDEX 


343 


Priest,  the,  the  intermediary  be- 
tween the  Prophet  and  the 
people,  18-19;  trusted  by 
Moses,   322;    see  also   Priests. 

Priests,  function  of,  18-19;  com- 
promise, 19,  131;  and  the 
Pharisees,  21;  contrasted  with 
the  prophet,  131-2;  teaching  of, 
produced  by  the  prophet,  13s; 
heirs  of  the  prophetic  idea, 
136;  promulgators  of  the  pro- 
phetic ideal,  314;  see  also 
Priest,  the. 

Primal  force,  a,  defined,  129;  the 
prophetic  idea,    130,    135,   136. 

Primitive  man,  70-2;  and  sacrifices, 
140-1;  developed  by  Reason 
and  Imagination,  161-3; 
frankly  exercises  the  will-to- 
live,  163. 

Principles,  The,  by  Joseph  Albo, 
87,   188. 

Problem  of  life,  the,  solved  by  as- 
ceticism, 144-6;  the  material- 
istic solution,  146;  the  spirit- 
ual solution,  146;  the  Jewish 
solution,  146-9. 

Profane,  differentiated  from  sac- 
red, 41-2,  42-3. 

Prophecy,  a  Hebraic  phenomenon, 
132- 

Prophet,  the,  the  Jewish  super- 
man, 27;  the  goal  and  source 
of  life,  28;  one-sided,  130;  a 
primal  force,  130;  how  viewed 
by  others,  131;  contrasted  with 
the  Priest,  131-2,  13s;  the  fun- 
damental idea  of,  133;  uni- 
versalistic  and  nationalistic, 
134-5 ;  failure  of  the  idea  of, 
136-7;  the  mission  of  Israel  ac- 
cording to,  137-8;  defined  as 
to  three  characteristics,  311- 
13;  as  a  predicter  of  the  fu- 
ture, 313;  influences  the  world 
indirectly,  313-14;  see  also 
Prophecy;  Prophetic  ideal, 
the;  Prophets,  the. 


Prophetic  ideal,  the,  16-18,  24;  per- 
petuated by  the  Pharisees,  20; 
national,  24;  see  also  Proph- 
ecy; Prophet,  the;  Prophets, 
the. 

Prophets,  the,  as  products  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit,  14-15;  express 
the  Hebrew  ideal  of  character, 
15;  not  fore-seers,  15;  qualities 
of,  16;  ideals  of,  16-17,  24;  un- 
compromising, 17-18;  in  rela- 
tion to  priests,  18-19;  con- 
sider national  separateness  es- 
sential, 21;  urge  the  doctrine 
of  the  Unity  of  God,  73,  74- 
5;  rejuvenate  the  national  self 
of  the  Jew,  83;  supposed 
teachers  of  Plato  and  Socrates, 
119;  opposed  to  political  ma- 
terialism, 152-3;  insist  upon 
unity  of  flesh  and  spirit,  153; 
the  happiness  theory  of,  167; 
on  the  mission  of  Israel,  231; 
insist  on  morality,  263-4;  see 
also  Prophecy;  Prophet,  the; 
Prophetic  ideal,  the. 

Rabbis,  the,  heirs  of  the  prophets, 
21;  see  also  Pharisees,  the. 

Rashi,  cited,  75  (n.). 

Rational  criticism,  to  emancipate 
the  Jews  of  the  East,  246  et 
seq. 

Reason,  not  the  only  guide  of  man, 
159;  place  of,  in  early  human 
development,  161-3;  in  a  com- 
plex  society,    164,    165-6. 

Reform  of  Judaism.  See  under 
Judaism;  also  Mission  of 
Israel,   the. 

Reformers,  the,  on  sacredness,  44; 
apologists,  57;  and  the  hope 
for  the  future,  88;  work  for 
the  Jews  of  their  respective 
countries,  247;  see  under  Ju- 
daism; also  Mission  of  Israel, 
the. 


344 


INDEX 


Refuge,  a,  the  hope  of  Zionism, 
25s;  for  the  national  spirit, 
287. 

Reinach,  S.,  article  of,  cited,  244 
(n.);  analyzed,  243  et  seq. 

Reinach,  Theodore,  warns  Jews 
against  anti-Semitism,   172-3. 

Religion,  on  the  dualism  of  body 
and  soul,  23;  supreme  among 
the  Jews,  76-8;  fasting  in,  140. 

Religion  of  the  Ancient  Babylon- 
ians, by  Sayce,  cited,  247  (n.). 

Religious,  distinguished  from  secu- 
lar,  23. 

Renan,  alluded  to,  82. 

"  Research  and  Reform,"  by  A. 
LoUi,  211  et  seq. 

Restoration,  the  national.  See 
National  restoration,  the. 

Resultant    of   two    forces,    125-6. 

Resurrection,  the  Jewish  view  of, 
149. 

Revelation,  a  principle  of  natural 
religion,   188. 

Reverence,  inculcated  by  Nietzsche, 
238-9. 

Revival  of  the  Hebrew  spirit,  the, 
the  solution  of  the  Jewish 
problem,  30,  40;  conditions 
for,  33-4,  35-6;  the  part  of 
Palestine  in,  37-8;  requires  a 
refuge,  287-9;  depends  on  a 
revival  of  national  culture, 
289-90;  see  also  Culture,  Jew- 
ish; Hebrew  spirit,  the;  Pal- 
estine; Zionism;  and  under 
National,   etc. 

Revolution.  See  February  Revo- 
lution, the;  French  Revolu- 
tion,   the. 

Reward  and  punishment,  a  princi- 
ple of  natural  religion,   188. 

Riehl,  A.,  cited,  227  (n.),  229  (n.). 

Righteousness,  the  prophetic  ideal, 
1 6,  24;  the  law  of,  social  and 
individual,  52;  how  defined  by 
the  Hebrew  prophets,  133-4; 
and  the  mission  of  Israel,  137; 


hatred    of    life,     166;    in    the 

Nietzschean      system,      234-5; 

characteristic   of  the   Prophet, 

312-13;  see  also  Justice. 
"  Rights   of   man,"    176. 
Romans,    the,    and   Greek   culture, 

116. 
Roumania,  the  Jargon  in,  282. 
Rousseau,  alluded  to,  237. 
Russia,  the  Jargon  in,  282. 
Russian    spirit,    the,    expressed    by 

Antokolsky,  272. 
Russians,   the,   and   the  culture  of 

Western   Europe,    116. 

Sabbatai  Zebi,  alluded  to,  78;  the 
sect  of,  not  ascetic,  151. 

Sabbath,  the,  observance  of,  depre- 
cated, 244-s,  246-7;  and  Mat- 
tathias  the  Priest,  247,  250;  a 
delight  even  to  nationalists, 
249. 

Sacred,  differentiated  from  pro- 
fane, 41,  43-4. 

Sacrifice,  the  notion  of,  in  primi- 
tive man,  140. 

Sacrifices,   replaced  by  prayer,   77. 

Sadducees,  the,  priestly,  19-20; 
contrasted  with  the  Pharisees, 
20;  and  modern  Zionism,  39; 
on  the  dualism  of  body  and 
soul,  150-1. 

Sanhedrin,  quoted,   ii4(n.). 

Sayce,  cited,  247  (n.). 

Schwarz,  Dr.,  and  Jewish  Science, 
274  (n.). 

Science,  makes  inroads  into  reli- 
gion, 183,  190. 

Science,  Jewish.  See  Jewish 
Science. 

Scriptures,  the,  independent  of 
their  Jewish  promulgators, 
186-7;  Nietzsche's  estimate  of, 
239;  see  also  Bible  the;  Law, 
the;   Torah,   the. 

Secchi,  priest-astronomer,  100,  106. 

Secular,  distinguished  from  reli- 
gious,   23. 


INDEX 


345 


Self,  the,  a  philosophic  concept, 
80;  memory  and  will  combined, 
80-1;  at  different  times  of 
life,  81-2. 

Self,  the  national,  past  and  future 
combined,  82;  three  stages  of, 
82-3;  rejuvenated  by  faith,  83- 
4,  85;  of  the  Jew,  rejuvenated, 
85-6;  as  viewed  in  modern 
times,  88-90. 

Self-contempt,  in  the  Jew,  201-2; 
the    means    of    escape    from, 

203- 

Self-effacement,  as  imitation,  no, 
111,  112,  118;  secures  stability, 
112;  of  a  community,  113;  pro- 
duces assimilation,  114;  of  a 
conquered  nation,  114;  due  to 
physical  and  spiritual  forces, 
1 14-15;  leads  to  assimilation, 
lis;  see  also  Assimilation; 
Imitation. 

Self-sacrifice,  not  an  end  in  itself, 
27. 

Sennacherib,  alluded  to,  153. 

Shabbat.  cited,  in  (n.). 

Shakespeare,  a  creator  of  objective 
culture,  260. 

"  Short  Talks  on  Great  Subjects," 
by  Ahad  Ha-' Am,  7. 

Shulhan  'Aruk,  the,  A.  Lolli  on, 
211-12  (and  n.);  expresses  the 
Law  in  the  terms  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  212;  deduced  from  the 
Talmud,  215;  in  modern  times, 
215;  opposed  to  compromise, 
264;  see  also  Law,  the. 

Simmel,  George,  on  Nietzsche,  222 
(and  n.)-3- 

Simon,  deist,  alluded  to,  187. 

Sins,  imaginary,  dangerous  to 
plead  guilty  of,  201-2. 

Skepticism,  action  of,  62. 

Slavery  among  Western  Jews, 
spiritual,  177  et  seq.;  intellec- 
tual, 182  et  seq.;  in  freedom, 
250-2. 

Smith,  Adam,  on  conscience,  49. 


Smolenskin,  vogue  of,  279. 
Societe  des  etudes  juives,  172. 
Society,  circular  movement  of,  68, 

70;  hypnotizes  the  individual, 

91-3,  94;  secured  by  imitation, 

107-8,  112. 
"Society  of  Seekers  after  Goodness 

and  Wisdom,  The,"  64  (n.). 
Socrates,  alluded  to,  119,  125. 
Solomon,  king,  alluded  to,  124. 
Song    of    Songs,    the,    a    national 

hymn,  302. 
Soul,  the,  defined,  23;  modern  view 

of,   127-8;  the  real  ego,  144-5; 

Jewish      definition      of,      146; 

helped    by    the    body,    149-51; 

see     also     Dualism;     Hebrew 

Spirit,   the;  and   under  Spirit 

and   Spiritual. 
Spencer,  stigmatized  by  Nietzsche, 

237- 

Spinoza,  alluded  to,  244. 

Spirit,  defined,  12-14;  the  union  of, 
with  the  flesh,  nationally,  152- 
9;  of  the  Jew,  agitated  by  the 
blood-accusation,  195-6;  see 
also  Hebrew  spirit,  the;  Soul, 
the;  and  under  Spiritual. 

Spirit  of  the  age,  the,  meaning  of, 
96. 

Spiritual,  defined,   12-14. 

Spiritual  force,  produces  self-ef- 
facement, II 4- II 5,  116;  effect 
of,  on  Jews,  1 17. 

Spiritual  rest,  craved  by  the  will- 
to-live,  161. 

Spiritual  slavery.  See  under 
Slavery. 

Spiritual  theory,  the,  of  Jewish 
national  life,  167-8,  169. 

Spiritual  view,  the,  of  life,  146. 

Spiritual  world,  the,  created  by 
man's  imagination  under  com- 
plex social  conditions,   165. 

Spiritualism,  and  hypnotism,  95. 

Steinthal,  cited,   180  (n.). 

Stone,  vessels  of,  used  by  the 
Egyptians,   41. 


346 


INDEX 


"  Strong  Hand."  See  Yad  ha- 
hazakah. 

Superman,  the,  the  Prophet  as, 
27-8;  in  Nietzsche's  system 
220-1;  an  Aryan  product,  225 
6;  depends  on  environment 
227-8;  doctrine  of,  not  applic 
able  to  the  Jewish  nation 
233-4;  Moses  as,  325. 

Supernation,  the,  28;  the  soil  for 
the  superman,  228;  Israel  in 
the  role  of,  228  et  scq. 

Survivals  in  beliefs,  characterized, 
68-9;  value  of,  69-70;  illus- 
trated by  the  Jewish  national 
hope,  75-9. 

Swiss,  the,  subjective  culture  of, 
260-1;  have  no  national  liter- 
ature, 278. 

Synagogue,  the,  the  substitute 
for  the  Temple,  77. 

Synagogue  organization,  and  Zion- 
ism, 300-1. 

Systems  of  thought,  how  modified, 
54-6,   58-9. 

Talmud,  the,  quoted,  25,  45  (n.), 
127,  150,  213;  a  storehouse  of 
Hebraism,  36;  expresses  the 
Law  in  terms  of  the  latter 
days  of  the  ancient  world,  212; 
Luzzatto  characterizes,  213-14; 
the  basis  of  laws,  214-15;  op- 
posed to  compromise,  264;  dis- 
credited as  historical  evidence, 
274;  not  yet  thoroughly  in- 
vestigated, 274-5;  see  also  Law, 
the. 

Tarde,  quoted,  107. 

Temple,  the,  replaced  by  the  Syna- 
gogue,  77. 

Torah,  the,  in  defense  of  the 
Hebrew  spirit,  22;  the  Jew 
identified  with,  212-13;  see 
also  Law,  the. 

Tradition,  combated  by  logic,  205- 
7;  treated  as  a  natural  phe- 
nomenon, 207  tt  seq.;  criticism 


of,  among  Jews,  210;  and 
nationalism,  210-11;  in  mod- 
ern times,  215-16;  see  also 
Past,  the. 

Transvaluation,  the,  of  values, 
various  views  of,  217;  de- 
mands a  rectification  of  Juda 
ism,  218;  not  a  Jewish  prod 
uct,  218-19;  the  doctrine  of 
219-21;  as  transferred  to  Juda 
ism,  223-32;  as  falsely  applied 
to  Judaism,  232  et  seq. 

Truth,  the  prophet  a  man  of,  16; 
love  of,  and  "  extremeness," 
26;  characteristic  of  the 
Prophet,  311-12. 

Tylor,  anthropologist,  alluded  to, 
69. 

Type,  specific,  perfection  of,  de- 
manded by   Nietzsche,   319-21. 

Unity,  complex,  128-9. 

Unity  of  God,  the,  belief  in,  as  an 

anticipation,  70  et  seq. 
Universalism,  the,  of  the  prophets, 

134.  13s.  136. 

Vayikra  Rabba,  cited,  150  (n.). 
Volapiik,  alluded  to,  238. 
Voschod,      the,      cited,      171  (n.), 
272  (n.). 

War,  defined,  53-4;  the  object  of, 
142. 

Warsaw,  Zionist  activities  in,  253-4. 

Werther,  Goethe's,  influences  his 
generation,  307. 

Will-to-live,  the,  in  the  Hebrew 
spirit,  12;  fundamental,  160; 
craves  spiritual  rest,  161; 
active  in  the  face  of  death, 
162-3;  exercised  frankly  by 
primitive  man,  163;  weakened 
in  a  complex  society,  164;  pro- 
duces two  views  of  life,  164- 
6;  the  Jewish  national,  167- 
70. 


INDEX 


347 


Wilna,  alluded  to,  270. 
Wilna   Gaon,  the,  cited,   213  (n.); 
as  a  model  for  an  artist,  271. 
Wisdom,  hatred  of  life,  166. 

Yad    ha-hazakah,    by    Maimonides, 

need  of,  214  (and  n.)- 
Yiddish.     See  Jargon. 
Yoma,  quoted,   127  (n.). 

Zaddik,       the,       contrasted       with 

Nietzsche's    superman,    227. 
Zarathustra,  by  Nietzsche,  quoted, 

221. 
Zeitschrift     fiir     Philosophic     und 

philosophische     Kritik,     cited, 

222  (n.). 
Zerubbabel,  alluded  to,  77. 
Zion,  place  assigned  to,  by   Stein- 

thal,   180. 
Zionism,  in  Russia,  66;  a  possible 

justification      for,      232;      and 

Hebrew  nationality,  253-4;  cul- 


tural work  the  essence  of,  258; 
the  proper  task  of,  293-4;  a 
movement  for  national  re- 
vival, 294;  different  kinds  of, 
295;  not  a  society  for  the  dif- 
fusion of  enlightenment,  299; 
should  aim  at  enlightenment 
with  a  nationalist  basis,  299- 
300;  and  education,  301  et  seq.; 
and  organization,  305;  see  also 
National  restoration,  the;  Pal- 
estine; Revival  of  the  Hebrew 
spirit,  the. 

Zionism,  political,  Ahad  Ha-'Am's 
objection  to,  39-40;  and  Jew- 
ish culture,  253,  255-8;  defined, 
254-5. 

Zu  Bibel  und  Religionsphilosophie, 
by  Steinthal,  cited,  180  (n.)- 

Zunz,  on  purpose  of  Jewish 
Science,  276. 

Zur  Geschichte  der  Moral,  by 
Nietzsche,  cited,  228  (n.). 


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